ACAG: The Shadow of the Eclipse
by Light-Princess14
Summary: Follow Rini and her friends in this sequel of ACAG where they go through a whole new adventure, learning about ancient powers as they try to keep the balance between good and evil. Will they succeed? Please read and review! Rated T to be safe!
1. The Introduction

**Auth****or's Note: **Yes! A brand new sequel to Another Century, Another Generation! I am very excited to type this all. Get ready for new heroes, new couples, new drama and most importantly, new villains! I will not be doing two author notes per chapter like ACAG but instead after this chapter, I will put a brief author note at the end of each one. No summaries either. And I'll just put an overall disclaimer so that I don't have to keep typing it every single chapter. To new readers, I suggest you read ACAG first before reading this but it's not completely necessary. But it would give you a lot of background info that you might want to know. Anyway, many of the new characters that will be included in this story belong to my friend over in a Sailor Moon RP forum I belong to. But she allowed me to use them. One last thing, if you forgot, Ognihs is now Yume. I changed her name in the revised version of ACAG. The prologue-like-chapter is kind of a flashback back to the Silver Millennium in case you get confused. Welcome to ACAG: The Shadow of the Eclipse.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Sailor Moon or any Sailor Moon related characters. A majority of the new characters that will appear belong to my friend _Kayla-1993-17_. But I do own my OCs and the plotline so please don't steal it.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter One: The Introduction:<span>

Queen Serenity walked out of the Moon Palace and headed down the marble path, gripping her crescent moon sceptre in her hand. The Silver Crystal glimmered as she raised the sceptre and opened her mouth to speak. She was interrupted by a voice.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Nine year old Princess Serenity scrambled down the path to reach her mother. Queen Serenity turned around and looked down at her daughter's grinning face.

"Serenity, it is past curfew. You're not supposed to be out here," Queen Serenity told her.

"I know but I saw you going outside and I wanted to know where you were going," Princess Serenity admitted as she fiddled around with her nightgown.

"I am taking a quick visit to the Sun Kingdom. Don't fret Serenity; I will return soon," Queen Serenity smiled.

"At this hour? What for?" Princess Serenity really wanted to know.

"To perform the Eclipse Ceremony with Queen Aparra to repair the veil once more," Queen Serenity said. Princess Serenity cocked her head to the side and stared at her mother blankly. "I can explain it if you want to know." Princess Serenity eagerly nodded her head as she followed her mother. They sat on a silver bench found on the pathway.

"The Moon Kingdom and the Sun Kingdom have been allies since the beginning of time. The first king of the Sun and the first queen of the Moon were twins. King Apollo and Queen Artemis. Artemis decided to make the Moon her kingdom but Apollo didn't like the fact that they would be separated because of the evils that were born along with them. Artemis reassured him by performing a ceremony with him. They created a veil that would ward off evil and keep peace in this solar system. They just so happened to perform the same ceremony during a solar eclipse. After that, Artemis moved to the Moon. Since then, the rulers of each kingdom are always astral twins and always perform this ceremony during a solar eclipse," Queen Serenity explained.

"What are astral twins? And why are you going to perform the ceremony now?" Princess Serenity asked.

"When someone is born in the same year, same day and same time as you, they are your astral twin. For example, Aparra and I are astral twins. You and Kiiro are astral twins as well. As for the ceremony, tonight is a solar eclipse and the time where the veil is at its weakest. Evil presences will be trying their best now to get through. We must repair it before any get through. Some may have gotten through already but their power will decrease once they pass the veil. That is why most evil people try to break the veil instead of flying through it while it's weak. Not all do that though so that is why we must be prepared," Queen Serenity answered. She stood up from her seat on the bench. "Now I must go Serenity. The eclipse doesn't last for long."

"Mom, can I come too? Please? I won't disturb you or Queen Aparra or anything! I just really want to watch," Princess Serenity pleaded.

The Queen shook her head. "I'm sorry Serenity but you need your rest. The ceremony might take a while." Princess Serenity's eyes watered as she continued to beg her mother. Finally Queen Serenity sighed and gave in. "Alright you can come. I think Aparra will bring Kiiro anyway. Now hurry on and go get dressed." Princess Serenity nodded excitedly and ran back into the palace.

A few moments later, Serenity returned wearing a blouse and skirt with stockings. She didn't have time to change into her dress. Queen Serenity raised her sceptre once more and traced a large circle before them. When the ring was complete, it started to glow and a portal to the sun appeared. Queen Serenity took Princess Serenity's hand and they crossed through the portal as it closed behind them.

Queen Aparra was waiting on the bridge in front of the Sun Castle. Beside her was her daughter, Princess Kiiro. She was rather bored waiting for the Moon party to arrive. There was a bright flash and Queen Serenity and Princess Serenity stepped out of the portal. Aparra walked forward and held hands with Serenity, "My dear friend Serenity, we've been waiting for your arrival."

"Pardon me for the delay. My daughter decided she wanted to come along." Queen Serenity gazed at Princess Serenity and Princess Kiiro who were now in a deep conversation. "Shall we head to the Apollo Sanctuary now?"

Aparra nodded. "Alright girls join hands with us," Aparra instructed. Serenity and Kiiro did what they were told and held hands with the queens.

"Queen Aparra, where are we going?" Princess Serenity asked, filled with curiosity. Aparra smiled softly over at Queen Serenity as she returned the smile.

"You'll see." Aparra summoned her staff with the Solar Diamond shining brightly on the top of the rod. "I call upon thee, oh great Apollo of the Sun. Grant unto us a visit to your holy sanctuary. May the fire of your soul rest within," Aparra recited. A trail of fire encircled the staff until it came into contact with the Solar Diamond. Amber and golden sparkles burst out of the tip of the Diamond and showered the quartet. A ring of fire surrounded them and in a flash, they were gone.

They appeared before a large golden door. Words were engraved on a bronze plaque: "Sanctuary of Apollo." Aparra tapped the door with her staff once and the heavy door swung open. Serenity stared in awe as they travelled down a golden path. Heavenly doves glided through the air as everything sparkled brightly. The four finally reached the temple of Apollo. Serenity was amazed by how large the temple was.

"You'll be surprised by what you will see next," Kiiro told Serenity. She nodded in excitement and followed her friend into the temple. It was very luxurious; the room was pure white with golden decorations everywhere. From golden curtains to golden vases, everything was so magnificent.

Aparra strolled up to what it seemed like a throne in Serenity's perspective. Aparra bowed her head and closed her eyes. She started to radiate a light orange aura and spoke up. "I, Queen Aparra, seek the presence of our first King, Apollo." Serenity's eyes widened when sparkles fell down from above as a figure began to form. Soon the sparkles vanished and left a person in their place, sitting on the golden throne.

"I-is th-that..." Serenity left her sentence unfinished as she continued to stare at Apollo. Kiiro laughed at her reaction; it was similar to hers when she first met Apollo. He had blond hair with bangs that fell slightly over his amber coloured eyes. He was muscular yet slim at the same time. A golden crown sat on top of his head, tilted more to one side. He was wearing a white tunic with an orange sash.

"Ah Aparra, it is good to see you once more. Same goes to you Serenity," Apollo greeted as he stepped down from his throne. Aparra and Serenity both curtsied. He stretched then walked up to Kiiro and Serenity. "Welcome once again Kiiro." Apollo paused to ruffle Kiiro's hair and grinned. Kiiro grinned back as she curtsied. "And you must be cute little Princess Serenity."

Serenity, who had just recovered from her shock, felt her face burning with shyness. "H-hello," she stuttered. She tried to do a curtsy quickly but tripped over her own feet. Apollo caught her before she fell.

"You've raised a good one Serenity. Full of energy," he laughed. Princess Serenity smiled as she giggled a little too.

"Can I ask you a question?" Serenity asked. Apollo nodded. "How are you here right now? I thought you were...well...you know."

"Haha I always get that question from first visits. You see, when I stepped down as King and well...you know; I merged myself with the sun. Now the sun and I are one. I can be called upon here by a royal of the sun and take on a solidified figure. I can appear as any age I want. I always have to be present during an eclipse ceremony since I performed the first one. I have to lend my raw power to the royal performing it," Apollo explained. Serenity slowly nodded as Apollo let her go. He faced Queen Serenity, "Shall I call my sister?"

Queen Serenity was about to answer when another voice spoke out. "Do not worry brother, I am already here." A person emerged from the ground as her white dress swirled around her. Artemis appeared about sixteen while Apollo looked as if he was twenty one. Her long white hair flowed all the way to the ground and her eyes were a light lilac colour.

"Hey Artemis," Apollo said with a goofy grin.

Artemis rolled her eyes, "My name is Selene and has been for a while now." Apollo went on to say how she will always be Artemis to him and the others. She glided over to Queen Serenity, holding hands with her. "Oh Serenity, you should visit me more often," she remarked.

Serenity laughed lightly. "I apologize for my lack of visits. But it is nice to see you now."

Artemis nodded then made her way over to Princess Serenity. "It is also nice to see you little Serenity," she said. Princess Serenity smiled then curtsied to her. They all heard a bell chime, indicating that the eclipse would be starting shortly. "I guess that means it's time. You and Princess Kiiro sit over there." Artemis pointed over to a spot where a cushioned golden bench was. Serenity and Kiiro walked over to the bench and took a seat. They were so thrilled that they would get to see the ritual.

Aparra held out her staff and Queen Serenity held out her sceptre. The two objects dissolved into sparkles and two elaborate transformation wands took their place. Both wands had white rods with two little white handles. The top was round with a five pointed star on the face. On the very top was a little crown with a small pearl. Aparra's wand had gold wings while Serenity's had silver wings. The star was decorated with different coloured gemstones.

"My mom told me about those wands. They're celestial relic wands. They are really powerful too," Kiiro whispered to Serenity. Apollo and Artemis both closed their eyes as their auras glowed. Their energy transferred to the celestial relic wands.

Once they opened their eyes, Aparra and Queen Serenity raised their wands high into the air. "Apollo Celestial Relic Power!" Aparra shouted.

"Artemis Celestial Relic Power!" Queen Serenity called out.

"Make-Up!" The pair yelled in unison. The two children stared at their mothers as they transformed into Sailor Apollo and Sailor Artemis. Their outfits looked so amazing. Serenity's was a short white dress that was separated by gold beads from chest down. The skirt of the dress flowed outwards. The sleeves were winged shaped as her collar was also white with three golden border lines. Her white gloves ended at her elbows with more gold beads around the ends. She had a choker with a gold crescent moon and dangling crescent moon earrings. Her brooch was a silver heart within a golden heart that had white wings. Another gold crescent moon neared the end of the hearts. A white bow was tied behind on her back. Serenity's gold crescent moon on her forehead was now silver as a small heart shaped tiara was placed in her long silver hair. Pearly barrettes completed the look as her eyes turned a stunning pale gray colour.

Aparra's was the same outfit but with different colours. Her dress, collar and gloves were gold with silver beads. She had an orange choker with a yellow sun symbol and dangling sun earrings. Her brooch was a golden heart within a silver heart with white wings. The orange sun symbol on her forehead turned gold as a golden crown with a heart on it sat on her head. Aparra's hair now had several golden streaks in it as her eyes also turned a beautiful gold.

"Wow. They're so pretty," Princess Serenity said breathlessly. Kiiro nodded in agreement. They watched as their mothers walked over to a platform. The tiles were in a design of a crescent moon and sun together. Aparra stepped on the sun part while Serenity stepped on the moon.

The tiles began glowing as Serenity and Aparra closed their eyes. Two objects began materializing before them. The pair opened their eyes and saw two large staffs floating in the air. Serenity's was purely silver with a large glass crescent moon on top. Aparra's was purely gold with a large sun with many points on top. The sacred staffs of Apollo and Artemis.

The roof above their heads began opening up. Princess Serenity could see the stars of space shining brightly. Apollo and Artemis both raised their hands. "We, the first twins of the universe, grant our ancient power of strength and sealing unto Aparra and Serenity. We allow them to conduct the sacred ritual," the two recited. An orange beam of light shot out of Apollo's palm and encircled the Apollo Staff. A white beam of light shot out of Artemis' hand and encircled the Artemis Staff.

Serenity and Aparra reached out and gripped their staffs. They tilted them forward so that both staff crossed over each other slightly, creating a small X shape. Aparra spoke up first. "I, Sailor Apollo, call upon the sunlight within our great first king Apollo to unleash itself and repair the weakening veil that separates good from evil." An orange beam of light burst out of the tip of the sun on the Apollo staff and travelled upwards towards the sparkling stars.

It was then Serenity's turn to deliver her part of the ceremony. "I, Sailor Artemis, call upon the moonlight within our great first queen Artemis Selene to unleash itself and seal the veil and to keep the veil strong until it shall weaken once more." A single white beam of light poured out of the glass crescent moon and followed the trail upwards to space.

The pair then released their staffs and they disappeared in a mass of sparkles. Aparra and Serenity held hands as they began to glow once more. "With the sacred sunlight and holy moonlight, may our kingdoms be full of peace and happiness. May this universe continue to prosper as we live in tranquility and harmony with one another," the two said in unison. Their Sailor Apollo and Sailor Artemis transformations dissolved into many gold and silver butterflies as Serenity and Aparra continued to glow. The butterflies scattered across the temple. Princess Serenity and Princess Kiiro jumped out of their seats and started chasing the butterflies, their laughter full of happiness. It was the coolest sight Serenity had ever seen. Now she really couldn't wait to perform the ceremony with Kiiro in the future in another eclipse during the Silver Millennium.

The eclipse didn't come soon enough.

* * *

><p><span><strong>AN:** I know in Greek Mythology, Artemis and Selene are two separate people but I just wanted to make them into one person. References to mythology, specifically Greek, will be found throughout the For the last line, I am referring to the fact that the Silver Millennium was attacked and destroyed by Queen Beryl before another eclipse could come. The eclipse ceremonies are usually performed by a queen or king. Next chapter you will see our favourite heroes. Review please!


	2. A Winter Wonderland

**Author's Note:** Yes I know I said I wouldn't include author notes at the beginning of chapters but this one is really important! I know in Japan, a new school year starts in April, the students take a summer break, return in September, take a winter break and end school at the end of March. But in order for my idea to work within the school year, in this story a new school year starts in September just like they do here in Canada. Their winter break starts on December 21st and ends after the first week of February. School ends on the last day of June :P This sequel takes place during the winter break throughout January since Tammy's and Aeneas' birthday was on January 2nd. And although this isn't really important, Rini's cell phone is a more advanced version of a Blackberry! Thank you for reading!

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Two: A Winter Wonderland:<span>

A certain pink haired girl with pigtails trekked through the frosty snow towards Downtown Crystal Tokyo, tugging on her scarf and adjusting her white bunny earmuffs. It was early January and the middle of winter in Crystal Tokyo. Rini let out a sigh, her breath creating a cloud of light air around her. It had only been a week since Rini last saw her friends on Venus for Tammy's and Aeneas' fifteenth birthday party but she was already missing them so much. She wanted them to be here to endure this cold winter weather with her. Rini knew she should have just worn pants instead of a skirt with thick cotton leggings. But she did look good either way.

Once Rini arrived in downtown, she headed towards her favourite cafe. The door chimed as she walked through. She sat in her favourite booth by the back window and ordered a hot chocolate with extra marshmallows, just the way she liked it. After watching the falling crystallized snowflakes outside, Rini pulled out her cell phone and scrolled over to her messages to see if she received any texts from her friends. There was a rather lengthy text from Arcturus, telling her how much fun he was having on Mercury learning about some technical stuff at the Mercury business centre. Rini found another one from Takemara who complained about the freezing cold on Pluto (which was much worse than Earth's winters). She read more messages from her various friends until her hot chocolate arrived.

Rini took one sip and instantly she felt warmer already. Hot chocolate sure knew how to warm a person up even during the coldest nights. Before Rini could take another sip, she heard her text message alert go off. Rini scowled as she checked to see who exactly was disturbing her happy time. The scowl was soon replaced by a smile when she saw the text was from Tammy. She clicked on the message and read: _Whatcha doin?_

_Nothing much; just drinking hot chocolate at the cafe. U?_ Rini replied then placed her phone back on the table. She took more sips of her hot chocolate, feeling herself melt from its delicious taste. Rini's phone alerted her again and she picked it up to read Tammy's new text. _Nothing really. Go outside and take a picture of Downtown Crystal Tokyo for me. I want to see how it looks covered in snow._ Winters on Venus were short, barely cold and had no snow. Winter for Tammy only lasted through the month of December.

Rini groaned; she had just finished warming up! Rini picked up her mug of hot chocolate and threw herself out of the booth. She went up to the counter and asked the employee if he could transfer the remainder of her hot chocolate to a to-go cup. The worker nodded and did what he was told. Rini thanked the man and paid before exiting the cafe. She stood on the steps and held up her phone to take a picture of the scene before her so she could send it to Tammy. Before Rini could press the button, a snowball barrelled towards her and she had to duck quickly to avoid getting hit.

"Hey! Who did that?" Rini demanded, whirling her head towards the direction the snowball came from. Another snowball came from behind and hit Rini on the back, causing her to fall slightly forward and her hot chocolate fell over from her hand.

"Haha we got you!" Kenzo laughed as he and the others stepped out from behind a building. They were all laughing until Rini faced them with flaming eyes and a very angry expression on her face.

"Um...surprise?" Tammy tried, flashing Rini a small smile.

Rini's fist shook as she shoved her phone back into her pocket. "Nobody messes with my happy time. Not even you guys!" Rini growled and began to chase them down the sidewalk. The group shrieked as they were chased all the way to the front gates of Crystal Palace.

"We're sorry Rini! Forgive us?" Arcturus begged. The others begged along with him until Rini finally sighed.

"Alright but _all_ of you owe me a hot chocolate each!" Rini pointed at everyone. They nodded quickly. Her face broke out into grin. "Good. Moving on, I missed you guys!" Rini admitted as she ran forward to give her friends a hug. She then wrapped her arms around Arcturus and gave him a very deep kiss.

Tammy rolled her eyes then cleared her throat. The sweet couple broke apart and gazed over to Tammy. "Anyways, you're probably wondering why we're all here when school doesn't start for like a month."

"I was actually just going to ask that," Rini said.

"When? After you finished making out with Arcturus for half an hour?" Hiroshi laughed. Arcturus' face turned bright red while Rini fumed at her laughing friends. Arcturus' face was so red that they were pretty sure it melted the snow that fell on top of his tuque.

"I said I missed him didn't I? It's been a while!" Rini crossed her arms.

"Geez you're almost as bad as Tammy and Takemara here. I caught them kissing in her room once then I checked back with them almost an hour later and they were still in the same position!" Aeneas smirked. Tammy shot her twin a glare and Aeneas nudged her in her side.

"You do have a good point though Aeneas. Tammy and Takemara do make out a lot," Ariel said while Kimiko nodded her head.

"Are you all trying to shift this onto me now?" Tammy growled as Takemara just looked away, feeling embarrassed.

Maximillian ignored them. "The reason why we're here early is because our parents are letting us spend the rest of the break here. They said it was fine since we did spend Christmas and New Year's with them," Maximillian explained.

"I still find it slightly unusual though. They always want us to stay with them during the whole break. What's making this year different than all the others?" Yume couldn't help but wonder about that.

"I told you Yume, maybe they just wanted us to have more fun," Tsunami said. Yume shrugged; she still didn't think that was the reason.

"Could we please go inside now? I'm shivering here!" Kimiko wailed. Mars was always dry and humid throughout the year. The only precipitation Mars received was rain and hail. Aeneas wrapped his arms around Kimiko and brought her in closer to warm her up. She snuggled her head into his chest more and rubbed her hands together.

Rini nodded and they all walked into Crystal Palace. Each one of them sighed in relief as they felt warm and soothing air flowing through the palace. Some took off their gloves and others unwrapped their scarves from around their necks. The friends headed straight to their personal gathering room, the Crystal Lounge. Rini suddenly stopped as her friends continued to walk. Tammy noticed that Rini was no longer beside her and turned around, asking what was up with her.

"I need to get something from my room. Tammy could you please follow me?" Tammy looked apprehensive but eventually shrugged and started heading towards her. Takemara gave her a look, curiosity evident in his eyes. Again, Tammy shrugged and walked off with Rini to her bedroom. Rini shut the door behind her. "I need to talk to you about something."

Tammy was taken off guard by how serious her voice sounded. She sat beside Rini on her bed. "What's wrong?" Silence answered her question as Rini continued to stare at her bunny printed comforter.

Rini finally sighed and looked up. "I think someone's in terrible danger. And I don't mean just a regular citizen. I mean someone who has a great influence on something." Rini paused to hear Tammy's response but she said nothing. Rini continued, "I've been hearing a voice in my head for the past few days now, ever since your party to be exact. The voice seems so familiar and it's always crying out for help. At first I thought it was nothing but now a very bad feeling has grown deep inside me and it's something I just can't ignore anymore."

"But why didn't you tell me or anybody else for that matter earlier?" Tammy asked.

"I told Arcturus but he didn't hear the voice so I thought it was just my imagination. But it has gotten so worse that I've started to have dreams about this too." Tammy was really concerned now; when recurring dreams were involved, something was definitely wrong. "I find it strange that you and Kimiko didn't sense this before me. I never had recurring dreams before."

"That is strange. At least Kimiko should have gotten some kind of vision. But then again, the other day she was telling me she was in this psychic runt." Tammy crossed her legs and rested her chin on her hand. "Tell me what your dream was about."

"Well it was a little choppy. Different scenes from different times would interrupt each other. But it usually starts with a shadowy figure. I couldn't make out any facial features but the figure is the owner of the voice that keeps begging for help. Then it transitions to some image of a book and a golden apple. Afterwards I see a hand holding a necklace with a diamond shaped jewel at the end. Then I see another figure opening a jar. The last things I see before I wake up are demons knocking against some kind of glass window and finally the glass shatters, releasing all the demons." Rini shuddered; just the thought of everything in her dream made her scared already.

"Oh wow. Usually my dreams go straight to the point but I honestly can't make anything out of that. Other than the fact that demons will attack again. When exactly are you planning on telling the others?"

"I think I'm going to tell my mom first and if she is as worried about it as much as I am then she will tell everyone else," Rini said. Tammy crossed her arms this time and gave Rini a look. "What?"

"Nothing. We should get back to the others now," Tammy said, getting off of Rini's bed. She headed towards the door but Rini grabbed her wrist to prevent her from taking another step. Tammy twisted her head in Rini's direction and was caught staring at her saddened face.

"I just wanted us to go back to our regular lives. I didn't want anybody to worry about a new evil. Everything was going back to normal and now we have to fight again. I don't want to lose anybody," Rini told her. Tammy stared at Rini a little longer before bringing her friend into a hug.

"I know you want to keep everyone safe and happy. Believe me, it's what I want too. But we're Senshi; it's our duty. If our lives were even anywhere close to normal back then, they're certainly far from it now. We'll get over it, don't worry." Tammy tried her best to assure Rini to the best of her abilities. In truth, she wasn't so sure herself how well they would do this time around.

* * *

><p>The following day, the princes and princesses decided to spend the day outdoors and have fun in the snow. Kimiko was a little reluctant to join since she despised the cold but after a little convincing, she finally agreed. Kimiko was currently sitting on the patio, bundling up in the thickest winter coats she could find. Maxine was executing several tricks on the mini ice rink in the field just behind the palace. Ariel and Tsunami just skated around the proclaimed professional skater.<p>

Everyone else was dividing into teams for the major snowball fight Kenzo organized. Takemara, Kenzo, Maximillian, Rini and Yume ended up on one side while Tammy, Aeneas, Uratoh, Hiroshi and Arcturus made up the other team.

"Hey! How come I'm the only girl on my team?" Tammy demanded.

"Either way one girl would have to be on a team by herself unless you want an all guys team," Kenzo told her with a smirk. Tammy glared at him but couldn't argue that logic.

"Well at least now I know who my first target is," she returned the smirk.

"Alright, we both have five minutes to build a fort and prepare snowballs," Aeneas said. He then turned in Kimiko's direction. "Kimiko! Tell us when five minutes are up when we say go, alright?" Kimiko nodded and gave him a thumbs up, her hand shaking uncontrollably. Aeneas laughed slightly at his girlfriend's discomfort.

"And _no_ iceballs!" Hiroshi added in, he and the others casting a look at Arcturus. He held up his hands in defence; he wouldn't go that far just to win. "Cool. Ready? Go!" Both teams ran to their sides and began piling snow to create their forts. Some on each team were creating snowballs for the team to start off with. It was packing snow but it was soft enough to not hurt anyone.

Kimiko tried to call out to them to inform everyone that time was up but she was too cold. Instead she sent a trail of fire to the middle of the field but was quickly cancelled out by the snow. Everyone looked to Kimiko who raised her hand. "I guess that means time is up. Everyone get ready, get set, go!" Aeneas shouted. Snowballs were seen flying from one side to the other and laughs were heard when one would get hit by another's snowball. Aeneas and Tammy were launching snowballs from the sky using their wings while Yume used her levitation powers to fire more than one snowball at once. It was a great help for Kenzo's team.

"Keep it up Yume; we're pulverizing them," Kenzo encouraged her then started to laugh maniacally. Tammy took this perfect opportunity to send a massive snowball down on Kenzo's head. He gasped as he was buried beneath all the snow.

"Haha Kenzo!" Tammy and Aeneas shared a high five and returned to their fort to collect more snowballs. Yume was about to throw more snowballs at the retreating twins when a sharp feeling passed through her stomach. The purple glow from her hands died down as she began coughing. Her friends on her team stopped and turned to Yume in concern.

"Yume what's wrong?" Rini asked. In response, Yume gasped for air as she collapsed onto the snow. The others on the other team soon realized something was wrong and were now running to the other side to see what was going on. Yume continued to cough as she clutched her chest. Takemara untied the scarf that was found around her neck to help her breathe a little better.

Uratoh soon realized the problem and bent down beside his sister. "Uratoh, what's happening with Yume? Did she develop asthma or something?" Maximillian asked.

He shook his head. "No. It's just a condition she's going through," Uratoh said as he searched through Yume's coat pockets. He finally found what he was looking for and handed a small container to Aeneas. "Open it please," he instructed, pulling Yume upwards so that she was now sitting up right. Aeneas opened the container and handed it back to Uratoh. He quickly took a single pill out then looked over to Arcturus. "We need water." Arcturus nodded and took off his gloves. He then focused and created a small pool of water in his hands. He crouched down so that he was now on the same level as Yume. She stopped coughing but was still gasping for air.

"Alright Yume, try to drink the water," Uratoh told his sister soothingly, rubbing her back gently. Yume shakily leaned forward and drank some of the water from Arcturus' hands. Uratoh then popped the pill into her mouth quickly and she swallowed. She then leaned back onto Uratoh's lap as he directed her to take slow and steady breaths. Soon Yume was breathing normally and sat up straight. "You feeling better?" Uratoh asked. Yume nodded and he handed back the pill container to her.

"When did you start having these cough attacks Yume?" Takemara asked.

"A while ago. But it's nothing to be worried about. My mom says it's common for a Saturn princess to go through this and it usually clears over quickly as long as I use the medication right. So like I said, it's normal for me," Yume shrugged. Still her friends didn't seem entirely convinced with this explanation.

Rini was the most doubtful of all. She remembered when Hotaru had a condition similar to this back in the past. The reason was because the dark energy inside her was growing more and more and gave her health problems. '_Is the same thing going on with Yume?'_ Rini thought at first but then shook her head. '_Nah. It just might be a coincidence. It seems similar to asthma so I guess it's normal'_ Rini thought afterwards. She gazed over to Yume who was already back on her feet and smiling. It was almost as if it never happened. '_It's definitely just something normal for her, like she said'_ Rini thought at last.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** YAY for the second chapter being completed :D It only gets more developed from here :P Remember how for ACAG, Rini and Tammy were the main characters? For this story, Rini, Yume and Tammy are the main characters. But mostly Rini and Yume. You'll find out why I chose Yume later on in the story. Please leave a review! Thanks!


	3. Blending with Shadows

Chapter 3: Blending with Shadows:

The princes and princesses were gathered around the fireplace in the main living quarters, all wrapped up in warm blankets and drinking hot chocolate. It had begun snowing hard shortly after Yume's supposed asthma attack and the group's fun day playing in the snow was cut short. The couples were snuggling in warm blankets on the floor while Maxine, Yume, Tsunami, Kenzo, Uratoh and Hiroshi sat on the couches. The guys on one, the girls on the other. Yume couldn't help but sigh from watching the cute couples in front of them.

"Hey Maxine, don't you ever feel left out being one of the few in the group who doesn't have anyone especially close?" Yume suddenly asked.

Maxine stared at Yume, wondering where all this had come from. Even though she had crushes, she never thought Yume as the type who would worry or stress over being single or not. She shrugged. "Not really. Sure it's sometimes weird to see your friends acting all lovey-dovey and stuff but I guess I've adjusted to it. I mean, you know how much I liked Sean and once we got together, I just didn't feel ready. And it didn't seem fair to him if I just continued to act like everything was fine. I'll be ready when my time comes. I'm only thirteen," Maxine told her.

Yume nodded; she had felt the same way towards Zachary. Still, lately she was feeling awkward and uncomfortable surrounded by couples all the time. "I guess you're right," Yume muttered, taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

"You know Yume, if the message is that you like me and want to get with me, I wouldn't mind that at all," Kenzo smirked. Yume grabbed the nearest couch pillow she could find and threw it at Kenzo's face.

"Like I would ever date you Kenzo." Sure Yume was feeling lonely but she wasn't desperate.

"But seriously Yume, since when did you start worrying about these types of stuff? That's not how my best girl buddy acts," Kenzo said, now moving to Yume's couch and taking a seat beside her. Yume looked into his eyes and actually saw a flicker of concern. "I mean first the headaches, then these asthma attacks-."

"They're not asthma attacks and I don't have any kind of breathing problems OK!" Yume snapped. Maxine and Kenzo gaped at her in shock while everyone else had directed their attention towards Yume. She looked back at them then quickly excused herself and left. '_Something is wrong, she's just not telling anyone about it'_ Kenzo thought.

* * *

><p>The following day, the snow had settled and Crystal Tokyo was looking like a beautiful white city covered with all the pure white snow. Rini and her friends decided just to take a fun walk and just admire the frosted beauty surrounding them. As they walked, they noticed three people walking their way. They were all dressed in pink. From pink winter vests, to pink earmuffs to pink boots. The girl in the middle, however, was wearing a different style of clothing than the other two girls following her trail. The group stopped in their tracks when they saw them.<p>

"It looks like Barbie just threw up on them," Tsunami muttered.

Tammy narrowed her eyes as the girl in the middle stepped forward. The girl performed her signature move; flipping her red hair over her shoulder as if she was all that. Tammy broke away from Takemara's grip on her waist and stepped forward also. "Carmen," Tammy said, trying her best not to put venom in her voice.

"Tammy how nice to see you! Looking like that," Carmen looked her up and down. Tammy looked down at her own outfit. It was just a white jacket with a blue denim skirt, white wool leggings and boots. She had on a blue hat and mittens as well.

"I don't see any problem with my outfit. You, on the other hand, look like you just walked out of a human doll factory with your two clones," Tammy smirked.

Carmen's two friends, Marissa and Rita, gasped. "We are not clones!" they said in unison. Little did they know they just proved Tammy's point.

Carmen rolled her eyes as she looked from Takemara to Tammy. She still wasn't quite over him yet. "You two are still together? Huh, go figure. There had been talk about a little cheating issue happening on Venus," Carmen said.

Tammy scoffed. "Only you would know Carmen." Like her Take~kun was going to believe that she supposedly cheated on him over the holidays.

"Of course. So how much did Tammy charge you this time around Takemara? Knowing her standards, I bet it couldn't be any more than twenty." Carmen gave Tammy a fake smile when her eyes widened big.

"Are you trying to call me a s-." Tammy was cut off by Maximillian who was clearing his throat. A regular citizen mom walked by the group with her child as they headed towards downtown. Once they were gone, Tammy faced Carmen with a hard glare. "I'm going to punch your face in for what you almost said." Carmen let out a shriek when Tammy shot forward with a fist formed. Takemara quickly grabbed his girlfriend and started pulling her away from Carmen. Tammy squirmed in his arms as she kept shouting angry threats at Carmen. Rini, Ariel, Maxine and Tsunami were trying to calm her down. "Let me go already!"

"Tammy she's just trying to get in your head. You know I love you so what does anything else matter?" Takemara told her.

"So you're saying that I should just let her get away for insulting me? She's the one who's the s-."

"Tammy! You have a reputation to protect! Don't let Carmen ruin it for you," Rini said. Tammy grumbled and kept muttering some nasty choice words under her breath.

"Looks like Takemara didn't want to lose his client in a fight against me," Carmen smiled victoriously. Tammy went off again and this time, the girls had to hold her back along with Takemara.

Yume turned around and faced Carmen, staring at her straight on. "Listen here little girl. Unless you want to die a slow and painful death, I suggest you stop before I deal with you myself. By the time I'm done torturing you oh so painfully, you'll be begging to walk through the gates of death." Carmen and her clones stared at Yume, fright evident in their eyes. Suddenly, the trio ran away from the group and headed back the way they came from.

Yume beamed and turned back to her friends, her smile still on her face. However, her friends were far from happy. In fact they seemed…frightened? Yume was puzzled. "What?"

"Yume...your voice…what you said," Ariel couldn't even put together an intellectual sentence this time around.

"What about my voice? It sounds fine. And all I said to her was for her to return to her doll factory and leave Tammy alone," Yume told them.

Arcturus shook his head furiously. "No you didn't. What you said was much worse than telling someone to leave another alone."

"And your voice was so much deeper, darker, creepy in fact," Hiroshi added in.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I know what I said and my voice didn't change." Yume was starting to get annoyed now.

"We need to talk to mom about this and fast," Uratoh said, grabbing Yume's wrist. He started to pull her back towards the Palace as their friends followed.

/*/*/*/

"Mom, Yume's condition has gotten worse. She's starting to collapse more often and just now, she spoke with a voice so dark and chilling and said stuff she normally wouldn't say," Uratoh explained to his mom. He was talking to Queen Hotaru through the hologram video phone in the main living quarter. Her husband, King Shingo, was right behind her.

"Oh dear, it's stronger than I thought. Maybe even stronger than mine," Queen Hotaru mumbled.

Uratoh didn't like the sound of that. "What's stronger than you thought?" Uratoh questioned.

"Nothing! Don't worry about Yume Uratoh. Just make sure she uses her medication right and she'll be fine. She's just having mood swings," Hotaru quickly replied.

"But her voice chang-."

"Son we must go. Court is about to begin," King Shingo interrupted. Queen Hotaru smiled apologetically.

"Wait!" Uratoh called out but it was too late. Hotaru had already ended the call.

"What did your mom say?" Rini asked. She was sitting on the couch waiting patiently for the news.

"She told me Yume is having mood swings. Sounds more like a girl thing to me than some condition originating from Saturn."

"Well I guess we can do nothing of it for now. We just have to monitor her a bit more carefully now," Rini shrugged. Uratoh nodded but his mind was somewhere else. He couldn't help but think about how antsy his mother was acting. Maybe something was very wrong with his sister after all. He let his mind ponder on the thought as he followed Rini to the Crystal Lounge. As soon as they arrived, Ariel jumped up from the couch.

"Guys, you have to see this!" Rini and Uratoh ran forward to where the group was surrounding Ariel's computer tablet. Takemara pressed the play button and a hologram of a news reporter emerged from the screen.

"There have been a series of robberies in Crystal Tokyo throughout the past few days. Crystal Tokyo, famous for its numerous jewellery stores across the city due to our King's love for gemstones, has been experiencing several jewel thefts. The mastermind behind these robberies has yet to be revealed. Security cameras have caught nothing but shadows, doors have remained locked while windows have remained intact. Clearly this person knows how to get in and out without causing any commotion," the reporter started.

Photos of several jewels popped up. "The robber seems to be collecting jewels with darker shades. So far, the thief has collected tanzanite, red beryl, lapis lazuli, obsidians, milky white opals and the latest stolen jewel, amethyst. The police are now considering in enlisting the help of our Senshi and Knights to solve this problem once and for all," the reporter ended off. Takemara pressed another button on the tablet and the hologram shut off. Ariel tapped some other buttons and images of all the jewels the reporter had mentioned appeared.

"This deep and rich purple one is the tanzanite. The red one with some pink tints to it is red beryl. Lapis lazuli is the deep and vibrant blue jewel. The sonic black one is obsidian. The white, pearl-like stone is an opal. And finally, the light purple one is a-."

"Amethyst," Yume finished off for Ariel. "My gemstone and the official gemstone of Saturn."

"There does seem to be a pattern though. All these jewels are rare and uncommon. Beautiful but hardly seen unless one is very wealthy. But the pattern ended when the thief stole amethyst jewels. It is more of the pricey jewels yes but it is common since it is the jewel of Saturn," Arcturus noticed.

"All these jewels are also very mysterious too. It's like they hold tales and secrets deep in the stone," Kimiko added in. The group agreed with that thought.

"We received a call from the head chief when you two were away. He wants us to meet him at the central station tonight," Hiroshi informed Rini. "These robberies must be pretty serious if they need our help to deal with it."

"Tell him we'll be there," Rini said. Hiroshi nodded and went to go make the call. Rini then locked eyes with Tammy. Her friend could tell what she was thinking: '_Is this concerning the new threat we're about to face soon?'_

Tammy wasn't so sure how jewel robberies and the new threat were connected but there was something often peculiar about this crime. '_I guess we'll find out tonight'_ she spoke with her eyes.

Rini sighed as Arcturus placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. She gave him a small smile but she was still worried. '_Please don't let this be the new threat' _Rini thought.

* * *

><p>"Welcome Senshi and Knights to our central police station. I am glad you are here to aid us tonight," Chief Akio greeted them as the Senshi and Knights entered the station. Many police officers were scurrying around, doing all sorts of things. They followed the Chief to the conference room and each took a seat at the large wooden table. The chief gestured someone to turn off the lights and one of the other police officers filled the request.<p>

He got out a laser pointer and pointed to a specific spot on the map of Crystal Tokyo. "We have discovered that the thief has been robbing the jewellery stores in order of their district. As you can see, the thief has started off with Imperial Jewelers in the 1st district and went in order from there. We aren't too certain, since this thief has proved to be quite the handful, but we predict that the next target is Lulu Diamonds," Chief Akio stated.

"No! That's my favourite jewellery store!" Neo Neptune cried in shock. She stood up in her seat abruptly. "We are so taking this thief down!"

"Excellent. That is the type of determination I'd like to see," the chief smiled. He tossed a pair of handcuffs over to Tsunami who caught it perfectly. "We will stay on surveillance here while you all go and guard the store. Agreed?" The group all nodded their heads in agreement. "Great! You should head over there now. The thief usually strikes around 8."

"Thank you Chief Akio," Neo Moon smiled as she rose from her seat. They all filed out of the room quickly and headed out of the station.

Neo Saturn covered her mouth as she coughed. The pain in her chest was annoying her more often now and she didn't like it one bit. She didn't want to admit to anyone that she was hurting since they already thought she had gone insane or something earlier today.

Soon they arrived at the jewellery store. They stayed hidden on the roof while they waited for the thief to arrive. Five minutes passed then ten, then twenty, then thirty. The group was getting tired now and some were growing impatient. Kimiko was pacing back and forth, Arcturus kept squirting water at Rini who was yelling at him to knock it off, and Tammy began talking about their earlier encounter with Carmen and how she was going to "rip her head off."

"Wait, shut up guys! I think I hear something," Neo Mercury said in a hushed voice. She began typing on her tablet and discovered a figure just outside the shop. "Yeah, there's definitely someone here…"

Neo Venus crawled over to the edge of the roof and peaked over. Sure enough, there was a person standing in front of the store. The others joined her as they tried to identify whether the person was a male or female. Before they could, however, the figure dissolved into the shadows. "Holy crap, did you guys see that?" Sir Mars asked.

"It's not a normal human being that's for sure," Sir Jupiter said, walking over to a grate on the roof. Once he removed it, he looked through it to see the inside of the shop. The hole was big enough for all of them to slip through, even Maximillian himself. He slowly lowered himself into the hole and landed on the floor with a small pat.

"Maxy has the right idea. Let's go in," Neo Moon told the group, walking over to the hole as well and dropping through it. The others followed and found themselves in the middle of the empty jewellery store. They scanned the room quietly as their shadows shifted and moved along with them. "Where did that person go?"

All of the sudden, they heard a crash and whirled around to see one of the jewel cases broken. "What the hell?" Sir Uranus muttered, unsheathing his sword. A figure emerged out of his shadow and grinned.

Neo Saturn was the first to notice this. "Uranus, behind you!" Sir Uranus turned around just in time to see the figure before he slashed air.

The figure reappeared, sitting on top of another jewel case. "I'm over here," the figure spoke. The group took this time to now realize that the person was definitely a girl. She snapped her fingers and the lights in the jewelry store flickered to life. The girl had sonic black hair that reached her waist with heavy black bangs. Her pale gray eyes were almost piercing while her facial features were sharp yet soft at the same time.

"Whoa she's hot!" Sir Mars whistled. Neo Mars slapped her twin upside the head.

The girl smirked and disappeared from her spot. She reappeared beside Sir Mars, stroking his chin gently. "Why thank you. You're quite funny," she said. Neo Mars tried grabbing the girl but she vanished again. The girl was found floating just ahead of Neo Moon. "So you are the famous Sailor Senshi." Neo Moon took this time to realize that the girl was wearing a sailor fuku. Her skirt was black and purple while her boots were black. Her bows were a light purple and her gloves were black. A silver tiara was found on her head with a purple tanzanite in the middle. But instead of a choker, a necklace, with a diamond shaped tanzanite and a small black sphere shaped jewel on top of the tanzanite, was found around her neck.

"A tanzanite…one of the stolen jewels," Neo Moon muttered.

"Don't forget the obsidian; it's the black jewel on top of my gemstone," the girl pointed out.

"Are you a Sailor Senshi?" Neo Jupiter asked.

The girl laughed at her question. "Of course not! I'm a Dark Senshi. Sailor Nyx, the Senshi of the Night to be exact," the girl said, an evil smirk appearing on her face.

"I never knew Dark Senshi existed…" Sir Pluto trailed off.

"They are very real! In fact, you have one in your group right now," Sailor Nyx told them. The group was confused by her words but didn't show it.

"Senshi or not, you're the thief who's been stealing jewels over the past few days! The evidence is right on your neck! For that we cannot forgive you! Guys, prepare for battle," Neo Moon said, gripping her sceptre tightly. The Knights steadied their weapons while the Senshi were ready to attack.

"Oh so you guys want to fight?" Sailor Nyx raised an eyebrow.

In response, Sir Venus notched an arrow into his bow. "Venus Sonic Light Arrow!" Sailor Nyx leaped out of the way just in time and the arrow dissolved into dust. The others followed Sir Venus' example and attacked.

"Neptune Ocean Illusions!"

"Mercury Icy Essence Shatter!" Both attacks hit Sailor Nyx right on, causing her to crash into the wall. But she stood up, obviously unharmed. The others continued to attack while Neo Saturn stood there thinking. If she was a night Senshi, a stronger dark power or even light can harm her. Anything else would be useless. If they combined a dark power with a light power, it can actually do harm.

"Tammy, I need you to combine your attack with me and my brother's," Neo Saturn told her. Tammy nodded even though she didn't know what Yume was planning. "Saturn Unleashed Shadow Dragon!"

"Saturn Dark Shadow Collisions!"

"Venus Shining Shock Wave!" Yume's large shadow dragon travelled towards Sailor Nyx as Uratoh's shadow balls swirled around the dragon. The golden hearts and stars from Tammy's attack merged with the dragon as it started crackling a golden light. The dragon wrapped around Nyx as if it was a python squeezing air out of a human. Nyx let out a yell of pain as the dragon continued to squeeze her. She couldn't dissolve into this shadow since Tammy's attack was preventing her to do that.

"I don't think handcuffs are going to hold down this girl. We'll bring her back to the station like this," Neo Saturn said. She commanded her dragon to follow her out of the jewellery store. The dragon flew after Neo Saturn while keeping Sailor Nyx in its grasps.

"How did Yume know that would work?" Sir Pluto wondered.

Nobody in the group knew how to answer the question. They stood there in silence, watching as Yume's shadow dragon followed her back to the police station. Sir Mars finally spoke up. "Well one thing's for sure, Sailor Nyx sure is hot!" All the girls glared at him and this time Maxine took the chance to slap him, hard. "What? You guys know it's true."

The Knights looked away from the girls to hide their faces. Sir Uranus was the only one who had a stupid grin on his face. "Yeah she is," he said with a laugh. All the Senshi rolled their eyes, shaking their heads.

* * *

><p><span>AN: Oh my this chapter took FOREVER! I was going to write way more but I reminded myself that I kinda wanted shorter chapters for AEC. Anyway, updates will be much slower than this now that school starts on the 6th and it's my first year of high school so I have to focus. I'm still a little scared though since I'm doing academic courses and the majority of my friends are doing applied :( Anyway, I hope some of you noticed the hints I placed in this chappie! Please leave a review!


	4. Confessions of the Tanzanite

Chapter 4: Confessions of the Tanzanite:

Yume's shadow dragon was still wrapped around Sailor Nyx as she sat in the chair of the interview room. The officers, the Senshi and the Knights were all examining her through the window that separated them from Sailor Nyx. "I thought all Senshi were good," Chief Akio said.

Neo Mercury shook her head. "Not all of them sir. There have been Senshi with evil intentions since our mothers' time and even before then. Some are given dark power and others are just born with it. Nyx is one of those who were born with dark power," she explained.

"Well our officers couldn't get anything out of her. Maybe one of you can talk to her?" Chief Akio suggested.

"I will. I'm pretty sure I can make her talk," Yume said. She walked over to the door that led to the interview room and went through it. Nyx had stopped struggling upon Yume's entrance. "So…in order for the police to complete the case, they're going to need a confession statement from you. They see the evidence but they cannot be sure that you stole all the other jewels as well," Yume told her.

Nyx looked at Yume then at the window where Chief Akio and the other Senshi and Knights were. "Alright, I'll talk but only if they leave," Nyx said. Yume turned to the window and Chief Akio nodded. They all filed out of the room and the door closed behind them. "Also, could you command your dragon to dissolve now? I won't talk unless I'm free."

It didn't take Yume long to come to a decision. For some strange reason, she felt like she could trust Sailor Nyx in some way. She raised her hand and the dragon dissolved into the air in black smoke. The shadow balls and golden hearts soon evaporated quickly. "Alright so did you steal the other jewels or not?"

Sailor Nyx got out of the chair and stretched. "That dragon had a tight grip on me. Your shadow powers are indeed strong." Nyx sat on the table instead with one leg crossed over the other and her chin resting on her hand.

"You didn't answer my question."

"I didn't have to. It's pretty obvious that I stole all of them," Nyx shrugged.

"But you only have the obsidian and tanzanite on you. Where are the other ones?"

"And how do you know those two jewels are the only ones I have right now?" This time Nyx smirked as she held out her hand. A necklace similar to the one found around her neck appeared on her palm. The obsidian sphere was missing from this necklace. But the only other difference was that instead of a tanzanite, it was a…

"An amethyst," Yume said once she saw the necklace. She took a step towards Sailor Nyx and the amethyst on the necklace flashed quickly. "Why did it do that?"

"Because it's yours," Nyx answered, standing up now. "You really thought that I was stupid enough to get myself caught by some _Sailor Senshi_? Please, everything I did tonight was on purpose. I didn't need to rob anymore jewels, we had everything we needed. Tonight was just a set up in order for me to get closer to _you_," Nyx pointed to Yume.

Yume tried her best to hide her shock but she couldn't. This was all just a set up? Then she quickly realized exactly what Nyx said. "We? What do you mean by that?"

"I don't work alone Yume." This time Yume's eyes widened. "Oh yes, I forgot. We know everything about you and your little brother. Actually we know more about you than your brother. Yume Tomoe, alias Sailor Neo Saturn, first child of Queen Hotaru Tomoe and King Shingo Tsukino of Saturn, born December 21st, goes to Royal Academy now in ninth grade, has a little brother named Uratoh Tomoe age 12, birthday January 25. You also have a guardian cat named Risa if I remember correctly."

"H-how, w-what, w-why do you know so much about me?" Yume sputtered.

"Oh I left out one detail! You've been fighting a nasty cough lately haven't you?"

Yume narrowed her eyes. "What about it?"

"It just means that your dark power is trying to manifest itself into its most powerful form, a Dark Senshi," Nyx said casually, tossing the amethyst necklace in her hand up and down. "You know, the more you resist the more severe the pain gets. That medication you're using ain't going to do anything."

"I don't have dark energy inside me. I'm a Sailor Senshi, a Senshi of peace, justice, goodness," Yume protested. She tried to will as much power as she could into her voice but it came out rather meek and not convincing.

Nyx laughed so hard she had to hold herself. "You're joking right? Even if you don't want to be a Dark Senshi, you _cannot_ say with the upmost confidence that you don't have dark energy inside you. You are the Senshi of Saturn. Known as the Senshi of destruction and rebirth. Your mother had the power to destroy the world in her time. And you're saying you don't have dark energy," Nyx chuckled slightly once more.

Yume was starting to get annoyed now. "OK, stop with your casual attitude and tell me what you want from me."

Nyx's face suddenly turned a little more evil when she stood up and stared Yume in the eye. "I was sent by my leader to give you this necklace. It allows you to control your dark energy and harness it if you choose to do so. This is so far, the only thing that would get rid of that pain in your chest. Yours doesn't have the obsidian because you haven't agreed to become a Dark Senshi, which I strongly recommend you do. I and my comrades would usually let the person with the dark energy suffer through the pain and not give them the necklace until they agree to go through the initiation of becoming a Dark Senshi. But my leader saw something special in you so she told me to arrange a way for me to get capture and get a chance to give this to you." Yume noticed that cruel smirk found on Nyx's face.

Yume stayed silent and Nyx continued. "You don't want to feel any more pain right? You don't want your friends always looking at you as if you're a freak?" Nyx took Yume's hand and placed the necklace on her palm. "Take it as a gift from my leader."

"Who's your leader?" Yume managed to ask.

Nyx once again smirked. "You'll find out," she said slyly as she started sinking into the ground. "We shall talk again soon Yume." Before she could do anything, Nyx had completely disappeared into the ground.

Yume stared at the spot Nyx was once standing. Then she looked down at the necklace in her palm. She gripped it tighter and exited the interview room to meet her friends. As she approached them, she quickly hid her hands behind her back.

Sir Mars was the first to notice Yume's return, "Yume! Did you get any information out of her?"

"Yeah she stole all the jewels. But then my dragon faded and she managed to get away. I'm sorry guys, I let my guard down," she apologized.

The others sighed but Rini walked up to her and put a hand on Yume's shoulder. "It's fine. There could be a chance that we get to see her again and catch her then. Plus she did seem powerful so don't even worry about it," Rini smiled. Yume smiled back, her thoughts of her friends thinking she's a freak fading into the back of her mind.

* * *

><p>Sailor Nyx walked down a cold stone path leading to some sort of castle. Fog clung onto the air as shadows of all different shapes and sizes whirled around Nyx. She raised her hand sharply and the shadows vanished in an instant. She then pushed the heavy black doors of the castle open and stepped inside. Nyx started walking towards the meeting room when girls started running towards her. They were dressed in full black body suits with heeled boots. Star pendants were found on their chests and each had their hair pulled up into high ponytails. Some carried clipboards while others carried containers and boxes full of jewels.<p>

They all scurried behind her as Nyx continued walking to the meeting room. "Mistress Nyx, I believe your mission was a success?" a tall girl wearing glasses asked.

"Yes, very successful. Are my necklaces ready?" Nyx said.

Two girls ran up quickly to Nyx. "The whole set will be sent to your chambers tomorrow morning," one of the girls told her as the other marked down something on her clipboard.

"Good. Thank you girls."

"You're welcome Mistress Nyx. Have a nice night!" all the girls said in unison. The tall girl with the glasses opened the large wooden door for Nyx and she walked right in. The meeting room was even darker than the hallways and corridors. There was still plenty of fog as a dozen fire torches gave the room a dim glow. Nyx didn't need the light to see since she had night vision but unlike her, her comrades had different powers. Powers that did not include being able to see in complete darkness.

There was a grand table in the middle of the room. Chairs were set up on the two sides while one grand chair was at the head of the table. A figure sat in the grand chair, her deep red nails tapping the table's surface in a rhythm. Her bright red hair trailed all the way onto the floor. "Nyx!" the figure's voice rang out. "Did you complete your task?"

Nyx sat on the table, crossing her leg over the other. "Of course I did. I don't do failure."

Her leader's face was completely hidden in the darkness but Nyx could clearly see the smirk on her face. "Good, the plan's going well." Nyx's leader stood up from her chair and walked over to a spot in the room near a fire torch. There was a pattern of tiles underneath her purple heel shoed feet that formed a star within a circle. She thrust out her hand and a large mirror emerged from the ground. Nyx joined her leader at the mirror.

She waved her hand over the surface and images of several girls encased in dark crystal appeared. "All of the princess's guard fell into their deep sleep and were encased in dark crystal. They are now in the hidden depths of their kingdoms, guarded by our monsters to rid of any intruders who wish to disturb their sleep. We must take this chance to get the Dark Senshi of this solar system to join our side and combine our dark powers to take over the two dominate kingdoms of this system," Nyx's leader said.

A slightly high-pitched laugh erupted out of the shadows. Nyx turned her head to the direction where the laugh had come from and saw a flash of greyish-silver hair. "I still can't believe how easy it was to capture the princess and her guard. So pathetic," the voice chuckled.

"Shush! Our mistress is speaking!" another voice, this one more mature, commanded the other girl. She quickly stopped laughing and stayed silent.

"Thank you. As I was saying," their leader paused and waved her hand over the mirror again. An image of Yume in her Neo Saturn form appeared. "This girl has inherited the powers of destruction of her mother known as the only Saturn princess to gain the full power of their First King. Her dark energy is incredible. She is the key to complete domination. We'll be able to break the veil that separates good from evil! I will be able to gain back my full evil dark powers. Then we'll unleash the evil spirits who have been held back by the veil and get them to rid the world of goodness. If we take over this solar system, the galaxy will be at our disposal! And our evil will spread until there is no more good spirits left. Our Dark Senshi reign shall be never-ending! " Their leader's sinister laugh echoed throughout the whole room.

Nyx and the other two figures got down on one knee and placed their right hand over their hearts. "We will do anything in our power to make sure your plan does not fail," they all said. Their leader smiled.

"Excellent. Proceed with stage two."

* * *

><p><span>AN: I updated in just a week? O_O YAY! That is extremely good for me considering how sometimes I don't update in two months! Sure the chapter was short but I still think it was an accomplishment! Anyway I'm just going to list the Senshi and Knights' birthdays because I kinda changed things up and you guys should know! I'll put their age as of this moment in the story as well.

Rini, Princess of Crystal Tokyo: Age 14, birthday June 30th

Arcturus, Prince of Mercury: Age 14, birthday February 9th

Ariel, Princess of Mercury: Age 13, birthday April 14th

Aeneas and Tammy, Prince and Princess of Venus: Age 15, birthday January 2nd

Kenzo and Kimiko, Prince and Princess of Mars: Age 14, birthday August 1st

Maximilian, Prince of Jupiter: Age 14, birthday November 11th

Maxine, Princess of Jupiter: Age 13, birthday May 29th

Uratoh, Prince of Saturn: Age 12, birthday January 25th

Yume, Princess of Saturn: Age 14, birthday December 21st

Hiroshi, Prince of Uranus: Age 17, birthday March 7th

Tsunami, Princess of Neptune: Age 17, birthday July 8th

Takemara, Prince of Pluto: Age 14, birthday March 31st

So I guess you can say that Kimiko and Kenzo celebrated their birthdays when they left early for the Fire Festival :P I know it's a little messed up but I wasn't planning a sequel when I made up their ages and stuff so I didn't care. But now I realized how important it would be for this story plotline :D So Hiroshi is the oldest out of all of them while Uratoh's the youngest. So all the seventeen year olds will be turning eighteen this year, the fourteen year olds will be turning fifteen, the thirteen year olds turning fourteen and Uratoh will be turning 13. Remember, it's only the second week of January in this story. But don't expect this story to go past February because it will mess the timeline up even more! Anyway I hoped you enjoyed the chapter and please review like always! Thank you!


	5. Dreams Revealed, Truths Still Hidden

Chapter 5: Dreams Revealed, Truths Still Hidden:

A girl sat on the bottom of a large clear box, lazily knocking against the glass as her eyelids drooped. Her once fiery orange hair seemed to be turning duller by the second. Her bright garnet red eyes no longer sparkled like they usually did. Once in a while, a machine connected to the box would turn on, sucking her precious energy. There was no sunlight in the room she was in so she could not regenerate the lost energy. The first few days she would fight back but now she just watched the orange strands of her energy flow from her into the machine. She was exhausted.

"Help…help," the girl moaned. But of course, no one responded. She lost track of how many days she was trapped in that box. It would seem silly to any normal person that a powerful being like her couldn't escape out of a simple glass case but it really wasn't funny at all. The box had been enchanted with dark magic. The seal was so powerful and so intricately casted that the girl did not have the power to break it. She never felt this vulnerable in her entire life.

The machine whirled to life, indicating that it would begin the energy draining process once more. It came on about three or more times a day depending on the setting. The girl slumped against the box as her energy transferred over to the instrument of her exhaustion. She fell forward, her cheek pressed against the cold glass surface. Her eyes flickered until they finally closed, no longer finding the strength to keep them open a second longer. '_Rini, help me soon'_ she thought, drifting into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Rini tossed and turned in her bed, not enjoying the nightmare she was experiencing one bit. She gave it a couple of more seconds before she finally gave up and sat up in her bed. It was that same confusing nightmare from nights before. And she still didn't have a clue of what it meant. She just hated not knowing what was going on.<p>

Rini threw her covers to the side and stood up, stepping into her fuzzy pink bunny slippers. She opened the door and walked out into the hallway. Her friends' rooms were on the two sides of the hallway, lined up after one another. Rini knew for sure that she wasn't going to go to Ariel; that girl was _not_ one for waking up in the middle of the night. She knew she could either go to Arcturus or Tammy since they were the only ones who knew about the situation. But Tammy did like to enjoy her beauty sleep. If she didn't get the right amount of sleep, she would complain the whole day saying she was ugly and such and being a complete drama queen. And Rini was not about to deal with that.

She walked over to the boys' side of the hallway and started walking down, passing some rooms as she went by. She walked past Kenzo's door which was painted red with orange flames sprouting up from the bottom. Right after was Maximillian's forest green room with lightning bolts shooting down the surface of the door. Finally she stopped at a baby blue door with tidal waves on the front. Rini really hoped he would actually get up and answer the door instead of lying and saying he would.

"Arcturus!" Rini nearly shouted, banging on the door. She then paused and heard a loud groan. Rini giggled and knocked on the door twice again. She stood there for a while until she finally watched the door open revealing a very tired and groggy Arcturus. "Oh good, you're up," Rini smiled.

"Rini do you have any idea what time it is? There better be a good reason," Arcturus moaned.

'_Maybe I should have woken up Tammy instead'_ Rini thought. "I had another bad dream," she said quietly, looking down. Arcturus then straightened up from his slouching position and gestured Rini in. They sat on his bed and Rini continued to stare at the ears of her slippers.

"So what happened this time?" Arcturus asked, breaking the silence.

"That figure I keep seeing was trapped in a box this time. She looked so weak and exhausted. Oh yeah, I think the person's a girl because of the voice and everything. She keeps calling out for help," Rini told him.

"Rini I think it's time that you tell your mom about this."

"…I can't. She'll be upset that I didn't tell her as soon as it happened." Rini played around with her thumbs.

"But you have to tell somebody other than me and Tammy! And she'll be even more upset if you wait any longer," Arcturus tried reasoning with her. Rini was still a little skeptical though. "Look, that poor girl in your dreams is suffering and needs your help. By choosing to not tell your mom, you're choosing to ignore a cry of help. And that is not very Senshi-like."

"Great way to guilt me into it," Rini muttered. "But you're right, like always."

"I'm pretty sure Tammy would have said the same thing," Arcturus shrugged.

"Or snap at me for disturbing her beauty sleep. I wasn't about to endure a day with "The Queen" you know," Rini laughed, making little air quote marks while she said 'The Queen'.

Arcturus also laughed. "Yeah that's true." Rini smiled at him and gave him a hug. Arcturus hugged her back. "Now get out of here, I need to sleep." Rini gave him a look and shoved him away from her.

"How rude! For that you don't get a good night kiss." Rini stuck her tongue out at Arcturus as she stood up. He laughed again and kissed her quickly. Of course he just had to use that super speed of his. "Goodnight Arcturus," she grumbled.

"Goodnight Rini," Arcturus smirked. Rini rolled her eyes and exited the room, closing the wavy door behind her.

'_Now to my mother's room'_ Rini thought and started down a different hallway. She couldn't wait another second to tell her mom after Arcturus' very good point. The familiar girl in her dreams could be on the verge of death at the moment and yet she was still debating on even telling her mother about the recurring dreams.

She stared at the heavy wooden door that separated her from her mom and dad's room. She remembered how when she was younger she would go to her mom's room and sleep there for the night when she had nightmares. '_If only I could do that now'_ Rini thought. But she was older and more brave and able to deal with it somehow. Rini then twisted the antique knob of the door and stepped in.

The window allowed a stream of soft moonlight into the room, making it seem more serene and peaceful. Rini glanced over at the giant bed where her mom and dad were sleeping away. She quietly walked over and nudged her mom. Serenity moaned and complained about it wasn't morning yet then went on muttering some nonsense. Rini then nudged her again, "Mom!" This time Serenity shot up quickly in her bed, her eyes squinting trying to adjust. "Mom, it's me Rini," Rini said.

"Rini," Serenity moaned, bringing her fists down on her lap. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Strange, Arcturus said the exact same thing. But I really need to talk to you and it can't wait."

Serenity groaned again and fell back onto the mattress of her bed. Beside her, Endymion rolled around, rubbing his eyes. "What are you girls talking about at this hour?"

"I don't know but I'm going back to sleep," Serenity mumbled, pulling the covers over her head.

Rini sighed, "Daddy, could you wake mom up? I really need to talk to her and it's important." Endymion seemed a little reluctant so Rini went on. "It's a Senshi matter. Has something to do with recurring dreams." Her father's eyes widened and urged his wife to wake up.

Finally Serenity gave up and stood up and out of the bed. "Alright, you win. Now you said something about a Senshi matter?" Rini nodded and filled her mom in on the story. By the time Rini was done, Serenity covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh Rini, you really should have told me earlier. You see, something has happened in the Sun Kingdom…"

* * *

><p>Tammy was sitting out on the patio the next day as she stared at the falling snow. She never experienced snow before so it was entertaining to watch all the unique snowflakes falling from the sky. It was like she was in some sort of trance just watching the white cold pieces of snow. But she was also thinking. Thinking about Dark Senshi to be exact. She was interrupted by the sounds of footsteps approaching her quickly. She turned just in time to see Takemara and Hiroshi running up to her. None were really dressed in appropriate winter attire like she was. "Hey guys, what's up?"<p>

"We've been looking for you since! Why are you out here?" Hiroshi asked.

"Really? I was out here the whole time watching the little pretty snowflakes. That's what I told Aeneas this morning," Tammy told them. Hiroshi started mumbling stuff under his breath.

"Anyway, you have to come in. There's a big meeting about to start and all of us have to be there," Takemara explained.

Tammy got up from her spot on the chair. "There's a meeting? Since when?" Usually their guardians would inform them about any meeting and such a day or so prior to the actual meeting.

"Since "today at 3:30 am" according to Rini," Hiroshi quoted. Tammy stared at him blankly. "No time to be confused. We have to go!" Before Tammy could utter another word, Hiroshi and Takemara took each of her arms and dragged her off inside.

The three entered the meeting room and Tammy was surprised to see all their parents there. The meeting must be about a very important issue then if everyone took time off of ruling their planets to come here. Tammy yanked her hat off and then her jacket and gloves as she took a seat in the empty chair beside Rini. She took one look at her friend's face and instantly knew that she must have told Neo-Queen Serenity about the dreams at last.

Everyone else was talking among themselves but the two girls stayed silent. They remained like that for a few more minutes until Rini mumbled something that Tammy couldn't hear. "Pardon?" Tammy asked.

"I'm scared," Rini repeated with a whimper. Now Tammy was definitely not expecting that. They have been in some pretty frightening situations but not once did Rini ever admit she was scared. She may have felt it in the inside but she never showed it. She could tell this situation was really troubling her best friend.

Serenity at last stood up with a hand raised. All the chatting in the courtroom ceased. "This meeting is now in session. Luna will now read off the first matter of discussion on our agenda." Rini knew this situation also shook her mother by how serious she sounded and the higher vocabulary she used.

"First item on the agenda: the disappearance of the heir," Luna read.

"Queen Kiiro contacted me about a week or so ago concerning Princess Akaaka, Rini's astral twin. She has gone missing," Serenity informed them all. Several gasps erupted from the princes and princesses. Even Rini was still shocked even though her mom had told her during their talk. "They have been searching for her ever since but found nothing. Queen Kiiro knows she's still somewhere in this solar system since she could still feel her life energy."

"What about the princess's guard, the Zodiac Senshi?" Kimiko asked.

"They were the first ones searching but something happened. They were all put under a deep sleep with dark magic," King Endymion explained. Yume shifted in her seat uncomfortably at the mention of dark magic.

"Well doesn't Queen Kiiro have enough power to break the spell?" Uratoh asked.

"Whoever casted the spell made sure nobody in the Sun Kingdom can break it. Also, the person who did it encased each Senshi in dark crystal and hid them somewhere deep in their own kingdoms. Nobody has found them yet," Serenity explained. "But with the appearance of Sailor Nyx the other night and my daughter's recurring dreams, we can now assume that the Dark Senshi are the cause of this."

"No!" Yume protested. Everybody turned to stare at her. Yume felt her face burning with embarrassment. "I mean, how do you know that for sure?"

"We don't know for sure. But it does explain the dark magic," Queen Ami said.

"Which brings us to our next point: The Dark Senshi. Who are they and what do they want?" Artemis listed off.

"I'm guessing that they want power like any other normal villain," Kenzo said in an obvious tone.

"But is that all they want? Maybe they want revenge for something that happened to them," Yume said quietly.

"Revenge could be one of their motives. But right now, the only Dark Senshi that revealed their presence is Sailor Nyx. And she has some serious stealth powers," Maxine told them.

"Plus the fact that she's seriously hot," Hiroshi grinned. Tsunami punched Hiroshi on the arm and he glared at her. "You know it's true," he muttered as he rubbed his arm.

"Alright back on task now. Now that the Sun Kingdom has no Senshi to look for their heir to the throne, you girls and boys will now be the ones looking for the Zodiac Senshi and eventually Princess Akaaka herself. This will be a long mission and requires a lot of travelling. We don't have much information about these Dark Senshi so anything could happen. You must all be ready to expect the unexpected. Do you think you are ready for that challenge?" Endymion asked.

The princes and princesses looked at each other and nodded their heads. Then they all looked at Rini who was staring at the wooden table before them. "Rini, are you ok with this?" Tammy asked in concern.

It took a couple of minutes for Rini to respond but she finally nodded. "Yes I am. If it means we'll be able to save Akaaka and protect everyone from Dark Senshi then I'm up for it," Rini replied. Tammy smiled at her friend's bravery.

"Good. It'd be best to go as soon as possible. We can visit the sun tomorrow to investigate then you can officially start the mission the day after. Kiiro's really worried," Serenity said with sadness in her voice.

"You are all free to go," Endymion said. The princes and princesses all got up from their seats and left their parents to discuss without them.

"Hey Yume, what was that back there?" Kenzo asked as they headed to the Crystal Lounge.

"What are you talking about?" Yume was obviously confused.

"Your little outburst back there. It almost sounded like you were defending the Dark Senshi."

"No I wasn't."

"Yes you were."

"No I wasn't."

"Yes you were!"

"No I wasn't!" The two stopped, crossed their arms and glared at each other. Yume turned sharply so her back was facing him. "Idiot," she mumbled.

Kenzo also turned on her. "Moody," he mumbled then ran to catch up with the guys. "I'm going to play elemental ball, who's in?"

Everybody agreed and they all changed directions and ran to their rooms to get dressed. They had their own specialized equipment for the game. It was a mix between football, basketball and soccer combined with the technology of this century. The dome centre where they usually played elemental ball was downtown and it was pretty cold outside.

"I can't find my hyper boot!"

"Rini, did you borrow my mittens again?"

"Why do I have three force gloves?"

"I need my scarf!"

After getting ready, they all scrambled out of the Palace and headed for Moonstone Sports Dome. Once they reached there, they rented out a field for the hour and put on their equipment for Elemental Ball. Soon everyone was wearing their hyper boots and force gloves with their safety belts. Half of them were wearing purple bandanas hanging off their belts while the other half wore blue bandanas. That separated them into the two teams Purple Hype and Blue Force.

"Prepare to get crushed Kenzo for calling me moody!" Yume growled, holding the gray ball in her gloved hand as a purple bandana hung off her belt.

"You _are_ moody lately!" Kenzo shot back, securing his nunchucks in the safety belt beside his blue bandana.

Yume had a purple glowing fist formed. Maximillian placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, relax Yume. It's all just a game. Don't let Kenzo get to you," he said. Soon the purple glow surrounding Yume's fist died down.

Takemara went over to an electric board in the corner and started putting all the data in. He pressed a button and the lights on the group's hyper boots and force gloves flashed their personalized colours.

A digitalized voice rang out throughout the field. "Standard Rules Edition: game will start with the elemental ball in mid-air and the two jumpers flying upwards to reach the ball first. Players can only score through kicking the element ball into the opposite team's net without crossing over the kicking line. Players must fly with the ball in their hands in order to reach the opposite side and can pass to other teammates. Dropping the ball out of bounds automatically becomes opponent's ball. Players can also steal the elemental ball out of their opponent's hands. Players are allowed to use their powers to prevent the other team from scoring. Each of the two periods shall run for fifteen minutes. Activating anti-gravity field and boundary lines…now."

A blue shockwave travelled across the field. Blue lights shot up to create the boundary lines. The nets hovered off the ground. The hyper boots each of the princes and princesses wore would allow them to float in the air or stay on the solid ground any time they please. "Please take your positions."

Yume, Maximillian, Tammy, Kimiko, Arcturus, Hiroshi and Rini as Purple Hype took their positions on the left side of the field on the ground. Kenzo, Uratoh, Tsunami, Takemara, Aeneas, Maxine and Ariel as Blue Force took their positions on the right side of the field. Yume let the elemental ball float out of her hands and high into the air at centre field. "3…2…1…Begin!"

The lights of Yume's and Kenzo's hyper boots turned on and they both shot upwards towards the ball. Everyone else's hyper boots turned on and followed their captains. Yume smirked and her hand glowed purple, using her levitation powers to bring the ball closer towards her and grabbed it with her hands. She started flying towards Blue Force's goal when a giant wall of fire created by Kenzo blocked her path.

Yume looked around frantically for a teammate not blocked by the fire wall either when a stream of ice knocked the ball out of Yume's hand. The ball was soon grabbed by Ariel who turned and passed it over to Aeneas. He used his wings to fly faster than he could with just his hyper boots. Aeneas dropped the ball to his foot and he kicked it perfectly into the net.

"GOAL!" Kenzo shouted, flying around the field and doing flips in the air. He then flew by Yume and gave her a smirk. Yume then returned it with a scowl.

Yume floated over to Maximillian. "Maxy, lightning time," she said. He nodded as Rini collected the ball from the net and stood just before a boundary. A beep sounded and Rini threw the ball over to Kimiko who flew off. Uratoh was about to steal the ball from her when the noise of thunder started to rumble throughout the gym. Maximillian raised his sledge hammer high and bolts of lightning shot down from above their heads. A bolt struck down in front of all the players of Blue Force, letting Kimiko dart around Uratoh and the others and kicking the ball into the goal.

"You're just getting me fired up," Yume sang to Kenzo. "I know how to run a team."

"You're doing an awful lot of flying and running and such. What about that condition of yours? Maybe you should sit out and let us healthy ones play," Kenzo narrowed his eyes. The whole field went silent. Yume's eyes widened as she stood there stunned.

"Kenzo, that's going too far!" Rini snapped.

"It's true though," Kenzo shrugged.

Yume's now formed fists shook uncontrollably, her black hair and bangs covering her face. "You stupid, idiotic jerk!" she spat out, her eyes shooting daggers at Kenzo and her fists glowing black. Before he knew what was going on, both of her hands thrust forward, sending a large black beam of crackling energy at him. He gasped as the beam knocked him into a gym wall, causing him to go unconscious.

"Yume! What did you do?" Kimiko cried out, running over to her twin's side.

The black glow from Yume's hands quickly died down and she brushed her bangs out of her face. She looked around at her friends' shocked expressions. Rini noticed how innocent and scared Yume looked now instead of the angry and glaring face they had just seen. "I-I didn't mean to! I didn't know what I was doing, I swear!" Yume stammered, her voice sounding alarmed.

They all joined Kimiko over where Kenzo was. He didn't seem that hurt; just a few bruises and scratches. "We still need him to get checked though for any internal damage," Ariel pointed out.

"Or you all can stay here and fight me," a voice said.

* * *

><p><span>AN: Teehee! Cliffhanger :) I got a chapter done! I told you all updates were going to slower once school started. But that's not the only excuse. I had terrible writer's block and it wasn't until I read Blood-of-Silver's latest update to know what to write next. Elemental Ball was inspired by her MoonBall in a way so thank you for the inspiration! But I know what to do for the next chapter already so that's good! Hope you all enjoyed!


	6. Spirits of Dark Magic

Chapter Six: Spirits of Dark Magic:

The group turned to see a girl standing in the doorway of the gym with her arms crossed. She was dressed in a full black body suit with black heeled boots. She wore fingerless gloves with studs on them while her chestnut brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail. A star pendant with a tanzanite encrusted in the middle was attached to the body suit near the chest area. A pair of glasses rested on the bridge on her nose. Behind those glasses were sparkling violet eyes.

Rini stepped forward away from her friends. "I'm sorry but we rented this field for the hour. Maybe you can check at the front desk for an available field," Rini said.

The girl laughed. "You thought I was joking? I'm being serious. You are the Sailor Senshi and Knights right?" The princes and princesses looked at each other, confirming her assumption. "See I knew I was right."

"Why should we fight you? There is no reason to," Tammy said.

"Then maybe I should introduce myself then. I'm Estelle, Sailor Nyx's loyal right-hand man, or lady in this case," Estelle smirked.

'_She looks no older than twelve'_ Rini thought. "So now the Dark Senshi is using innocent children to do their bidding? That's really low," Rini growled, taking out her transformation brooch.

"Mistress Nyx uses no one! We all have a choice!" Estelle glared, taking out a necklace with a diamond shaped tanzanite at the end. She placed the tip on the floor of the gym. "In the darkest of the night, may this tanzanite turn into a dark spirit to rid of all light," she recited as the tanzanite began glowing.

'_She is performing dark magic'_ Yume thought. '_But I'm not sensing any Senshi powers from her…'_

Estelle then stood back as a star within a circle appeared underneath the tanzanite. The symbol began glowing as well as a shadowy figure emerged out of the jewel. It then took on a solidified form as a figure dressed in a black cloak, the hood covering its eyes. "Meet Spiritus Umbra."

"What does that mean?" Hiroshi asked.

"Spiritus Umbra," Ariel repeated, "it's Latin for-."

"Shadow Spirit," Yume said, taking out her transformation wand.

"Oh yes Nyx informed me that you knew that we use Latin for dark magic," Estelle pointed out.

"Yume you never told us you knew Latin," Maxine said.

"I-I don't," Yume replied quietly as she looked down at the transformation wand in her hand.

The shadow spirit's grey hands reached for the opening of its cloak. In one swift motion, it opened up its cloak and shadows travelled at high speed towards the group. Uratoh only had an instant to react. He summoned his shield and cried, "Saturn Dark Force Field!" A translucent purple dome surrounded the group, preventing the shadows from attacking them. They banged on the dome and clawed at it to try to weaken it.

"This is our chance! Everybody transform!" Rini commanded. They all thrust their transformation wands into the air and shouted their transformation phrases. Soon they were transformed into the protectors of Crystal Tokyo and Earth, the Sailor Senshi and Planetary Knights.

The dome finally shattered and the shadows tried attacking them again. Sir Venus notched three arrows into his bow. "Venus Sonic Light Arrows!" he called out and his golden arrows flew towards a group of shadows.

Neo Venus brought up her hands so that they were now parallel to each other. "Venus Shining Shock Wave!" The golden stars and hearts pulsed out of her palms and eliminated the other shadows surrounding the group.

The shadow spirit let out a piercing cry and the group had to cover their ears. The pitch grew higher and Estelle smirked. The Knights and Senshi were practically on their knees trying to block out that horrible sound. Neo Saturn struggled up from the ground as her right hand emitted a black glow. A breeze blew through her hair. "Sonum…desinat…penetrabile!" She flicked her wrist towards the shadow spirit and the piercing cry ceased.

Estelle was surprised. '_She performed dark magic with a spell without prior knowledge.'_ The others got up from the ground and uncovered their ears. Neo Saturn then brought her hands upwards. "Saturn Unleashed Shadow Dragon!" The dragon formed out of her hands and started battling against the shadow spirit, distracting it from the group. Neo Saturn's hands stopped glowing and she fell backwards in exhaustion. Sir Uranus caught her just in time though.

More shadows materialized from the shadow spirit's cloak and the shadows began their second assault on the group. But this time they were ready.

"Neptune Sea Aqua Mist!" Neo Neptune created some mist for them to attack the now confused shadows easier.

"Mars Burning Fire…"

"Mercury Icy Essence…"

"Tornado!" Neo Mars launched herself towards the shadows. They dissipated into the air once the flames came into contact with the shadows.

"Shatter!" The ice shards and water tore through some of the other shadows.

The shadow spirit at last had gained control and defeated Yume's shadow dragon. "We're going to have to split up. Some of us are going to have to fight the shadow spirit while the others deal with the shadows it created," Neo Moon decided. Her friends nodded in agreement.

"I'll keep Kenzo and my sister safe," Sir Saturn told them.

A moan came from Neo Saturn's lips. "No, I can still fight," Neo Saturn mumbled, trying to stand up from Sir Uranus' arms.

"And her opponent will be me," Estelle glared as she stood before Neo Saturn, Sir Uranus and Sir Saturn.

Neo Venus stepped in front of them. "Oh no she won't. You'll be facing me Darky. What better opponent to face darkness than light itself?" Neo Venus smirked.

"Venus I can fight my own battles!" Neo Saturn snapped. Neo Venus ignored her as she summoned her golden sword and raised an eyebrow at Estelle. Estelle summoned her own weapon, a katana, and stood in her fighting stance. Sir Saturn dragged his sister away over to Kenzo and placed a force field over them to protect them. Sir Uranus ran to where the rest were to assist them. Neo Venus and Estelle charged forward and their blades clashed as they began their battle.

"Now we need to get rid of this spirit in order to stop the shadows," Neo Moon said. She glanced over to where Neo Mercury, Sir Venus, Neo Neptune and Neo Mars were fending off the shadows. Everyone else was facing the shadow spirit. The spirit thrust out its hands and a large gust of wind blew against the group. Some were knocked off the ground by the amount of strength put into that gust of wind.

Sir Uranus used his sword to struggle up from the ground. "I'll take this spirit down. But I'm going to need a few distractions," Sir Uranus said, looking over his shoulder at his friends. They nodded and stood up from the ground. The Knights readied their weapons at the shadow spirit.

"Jupiter Thundering Destruction!"

"Mercury Spiralling Cyclone!"

"Pluto Time Swirling Vortex!" The three attacks hit the spirit straight on, causing it to stagger back. It started floating over towards Sir Jupiter, Sir Pluto and Sir Mercury, its eyes flashing white.

"Hey shadow!" The shadow spirit turned around to see who was calling it. Neo Jupiter smirked at the spirit then launched her attack, "Jupiter Boreal Ivory Erosion!" The shadow roared as the razor sharp leaves whirled around the shadow spirit and the electrical currents shocked him.

Sir Uranus ran from behind towards the spirit. He leaped high into the air and cried, "Uranus Lethal Sword Slash!" He slashed several times at the spirit in several directions before landing on the ground, his sword at his opposite side. The cloak covering the spirit tore apart as it revealed a wrinkled black corpse creature. It screeched and covered its eyes as it tried to find its cloak. "Neo Moon, you can finish it off!"

Neo Moon nodded then twirled her sceptre several times as it gathered the energy needed to destroy Spiritus Umbra. She stopped twirling the sceptre and pointed it at the weak creature. "Moon Crystal Spiral Revival!" The sparkles and crystals surrounded the spirit, causing to let out one last shriek before exploding into pink moon dust. The shadows that were battling against Sir Venus, Neo Mercury, Neo Neptune and Neo Mars had vanished as well. The tanzanite crystal that Spiritus Umbra had emerged from broke into tiny pieces, black strands of smoke floating into the air.

Neo Venus and Estelle were still battling but Neo Venus was about ready to finish her off. "Venus Heart Whip Encircle!" A golden whip emerged out of her left palm and wrapped around Estelle's katana. Neo Venus flicked the whip and the katana skidded across the gym floor. Neo Venus then flicked the whip again and it wrapped around Estelle this time. "Don't mess with light Darky," she smirked victoriously.

Sir Saturn had let his protective shield disappear and Neo Saturn stood up from the ground. Her bangs were covering her face as she walked towards Estelle. "I told you to let me deal with her myself Neo Venus. Now I will finish the job," Neo Saturn spoke darkly.

Neo Venus was confused. "What do you mean by 'finish the job'?" she wondered.

Neo Saturn's fists started emitting a black light just like before. Her brother's eyes widened when he realized what she was about to do. He ran towards her to stop her but it was too late. "Delibito!" Neo Saturn recited, bringing her hands forward in a swift motion. Estelle's eyes widened as a shockwave hit and sent her flying. She landed on the ground, unable to move her body.

"Neo Saturn! You just paralyzed her!" Neo Mercury said in disbelief.

Once again, the black glow disappeared quickly as Neo Saturn fell down to her knees, her hands trembling. "W-what's…wrong with me?" Neo Saturn stammered, her transformation wearing off. Her friends ran over to her to try and comfort her.

Estelle laid there motionless on the field. '_I have been defeated. Her dark magic…it's almost frightening. No doubt that this is a child of the First King'_ Estelle thought. "Donec…varius…" Estelle said, out of breath. A deep purple cloud of smoke surrounded her and she was gone.

"Hey look, Estelle's gone," Sir Pluto pointed out. They all looked at the spot where Estelle was once lying on.

"But that's impossible. Yume paralyzed her…" Sir Uranus trailed off after seeing the look of devastation on Yume's face.

Sir Saturn shook his head. "No it's not. She has been taught dark magic. So she probably knew a spell to return back to wherever she came from," he explained.

"That doesn't matter now. The important thing now is that we should bring Kenzo to the Palace's infirmary," Neo Moon said. Everyone nodded and de-transformed. Hiroshi lifted Kenzo onto Maximillian's back as they exited the gym field.

/*/*/*/

Estelle appeared in Nyx's master bedroom, gasping for air as she laid on the purple rug lifeless. Nyx, who was sitting on her canopy bed reading, quickly tossed her book aside and ran to Estelle's side. "Estelle! What happened?" Nyx asked, grabbing her hand.

"I was weak. I let those Sailor Senshi and Knights defeat me," Estelle said in disgust. "The Dark Senshi of the group paralyzed me."

'_Yume'_ Nyx thought. She pressed two fingers against Estelle's wrist and kept them there for a moment. Her other hand glowed purple as she waved it over Estelle's entire body. After a couple of minutes, the light faded and she removed her two fingers from Estelle's wrist. "Even though she is a strong being of darkness, she is restricting her dark powers. So the paralysis isn't permanent. You should be back to your normal self after drinking a potion and some rest," Nyx smiled.

"Thank you Mistress Nyx," Estelle said with a weak smile. "I am sorry that I have failed you."

"You did not fail me at all Estelle," Nyx said soothingly, removing Estelle's broken glasses from her face. "You got her to use a spell. Even if she's restricting her dark powers, she is still using them," she smirked evilly. "And that, was all I needed to know."

Estelle gave her another weak grin. Nyx clapped twice loudly. A moment later, two girls were in her room dressed in the same uniform as Estelle. "You called Mistress Nyx?"

"Yes. Please take Estelle to the infirmary. Give her potion two out of my collection. Do not mistake it with the others' potions," Nyx told them. They nodded and ran out to get a stretcher for Estelle to lie down on. "Now Estelle, I don't want you doing anything for the next few days. You need time to recover and rest. I will have Mystique fill in your position temporarily while you recover alright?" Estelle nodded and Nyx smiled.

The girls returned with the stretcher and all three of them lifted Estelle onto it gently. Nyx waved goodbye to Estelle as the two girls took her to the infirmary. '_This story has only just begun'_ Nyx thought with a smirk.

/*/*/*/

Yume sat in a chair looking down at her hands outside the meeting room where her parents and Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion were in deep discussion. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were obviously talking about her. She had no idea what she was doing during the battle. It was as if she lost all control of her body and her powers. One minute she was translating Latin, the next she was using dark magic. The worst part was: Yume liked every second of it. The power coursing through her veins, the fearful expressions, the feeling she got when she knew she had come out victorious. What Yume didn't like, however, was the fact that she hurt one of her friends in the process.

"What I don't understand is how her dark powers almost seem…controlled. Like there's something that's allowing her to use them without losing ultimate control. Wait, that didn't make sense. Well it did, but it didn't," Yume overheard Serenity say.

"I think we get what you're trying to say sis," King Shingo rolled his eyes.

"You mean that even though she is using dark magic when she doesn't want to, there's still something preventing her dark powers into becoming really powerful," Queen Hotaru said.

"A Dark Senshi," King Endymion concluded, nodding his head in agreement.

Yume covered her mouth to stop herself from shrieking. She dug into her jeans' pocket and pulled out the amethyst necklace Nyx gave to her. '_It's just like Nyx said. Without the obsidian on the jewel, I'm not able to use dark magic to its full extent. But having the crystal means that I can use my dark powers as dark magic. Without the crystal means that I'll lose control over my powers and suffer the pain'_ she thought. Yume shoved the necklace back into her pocket when she heard footsteps approaching. She stood up and saw Rini coming down the hallway. "Oh Rini!"

"I have good news Yume! Kenzo's alright now. He just has a sprained wrist now after healing. He's awake too if you want to s-." Yume ran off before Rini could complete her sentence.

She ran up all the steps and down the hallways until she entered the infirmary. She ran past two doors before opening the third one. Kenzo was lying down on the white bed, his head against the pillows. His parents and Kimiko were in the room. He sat up straight quickly when he saw Yume at the door. She was breathing heavily as tears gathered up in her eyes. "Um could you guys give us a moment?" Kenzo asked his parents and Kimiko. They nodded and left the room, closing the door behind them. There was total silence except for a monitor that beeped occasionally. Finally Kenzo spoke up. "Yume," he started.

"Kenzo!" Yume said as she ran to him. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest and cried. Kenzo just stroked Yume's hair as she cried. "I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry! I didn't mean to do that to you! I'm sorry!"

"Stop apologizing already. You're making me feel bad knowing that I'm the one who's making you cry like this. And you know I hardly feel bad for anything," Kenzo told her. She lifted her face away from his chest. Kenzo wiped away Yume's tears as she sniffled.

"I'm sorry for crying. And I'm sorry for losing control. I was just angry and everything. But I should have known that it was one of your infamous 'unnecessary' comments after all these years we spent together. I'm sorry," Yume looked down at her hands again.

"Seriously Yume, it's fine. I should be the one apologizing. I went too far and made you feel bad when it wasn't your fault. But we're cool again right?" he asked. Yume grinned and nodded and Kenzo hugged her again. "Besides, girls dig guys with injuries." Yume rolled her eyes at that comment but couldn't help but smile at it too.

* * *

><p>Yume noticed that her friends were acting really cool about the incident the following day. Her brother did tell her he lost control too when the Dark Knights possessed him. She remembered that day all too well. Many of her fiends lost control at one point so at least she wasn't alone. But still she felt like they couldn't truly understand the mixed feelings she had when she did involuntary dark magic.<p>

Yume was especially glad that Kenzo was acting cool about the whole thing too. He kept bragging about how awesome he was having a sprained wrist. Yume couldn't help but laugh as she watched him boast it in Aeneas' face.

"Looks like I'm going to steal the few admirers you have Aeneas once school starts," Kenzo smirked.

"Oh yes because nothing says tough guy more than a _sprained wrist_," Aeneas rolled his eyes.

"You guys can talk about that later. We're going to the Sun remember? My mom's waiting for us outside," Rini told them. Yume, Kenzo and Aeneas followed Rini outside to the courtyard where her mother and the others were waiting.

"Alright is everyone here now?" Neo-Queen Serenity asked. They nodded their heads. Serenity traced a large circle with her index finger in the air. When it was complete, a portal to the Sun appeared. Everyone then walked through the portal and it closed behind them. They were standing on the brown stoned bridge in front of the tall and elegant Sun Castle.

Tammy twirled around in a circle. "Ah it feels like I haven't been here in ages," she let out a content sigh.

"We were just here in December Tammy," Rini rolled her eyes.

"Kiiro!" Serenity exclaimed. The group turned to see two figures walking towards them. The first was wearing sleeveless orange dress that turned darker near the end. Yellow fringe bordered the top of the dress while orange pearls bordered the hem. The figure had a gold crown placed on top of her head with a sun symbol on her forehead. She held a tall bronze staff with the Solar Diamond on top. She was Queen Kiiro of the Sun.

The man beside her, King Phoenix, was in a deep red suit with orange flames rising from the bottom of the jacket upwards. His red hair covered one of his orange eyes with yellow and red flecks in them as a crown sat on top of his head. The two reached the group and Serenity ran forward and held hands with Kiiro. "Kiiro, I'm sorry it took this long to come here."

"It's alright Serenity." Rini could hear the sadness in Queen Kiiro's voice as she spoke. "But I'm afraid we're running out of time. Her life energy…it's disappearing," she said quietly as she placed a hand over her heart.

Serenity pulled Kiiro into a hug. "Don't worry Kiiro. My daughter and her friends will find Akaaka in time. I put my entire trust in them." Rini felt as if a heavy weight was put on her shoulders. Her mother was putting all her trust on them? Talk about more pressure. Serenity let go of Kiiro and turned to face the group. "You're all free to investigate now. Meet us back here in two hours." With that, Serenity, Kiiro and King Phoenix entered the Sun Castle leaving the group on the bridge.

"I don't even know where to start," Rini said. "I don't even know what we're looking for!"

"Maybe we should look for clues?" Maxine suggested.

"But if the Dark Senshi have Sailor Nyx on their side, I'm pretty sure the probability of finding clues will be zero," Ariel pointed out as she made a zero with her hand.

Tammy was about to speak when she heard some shouting in the distance. The others stopped and listened too as the voices got louder. Soon they saw rows of soldiers marching past the Sun Castle. There was a soldier in the front that caught Tammy's attention. A lightly tanned boy with orange hair that fell over his amber coloured eyes. He was shouting out commands as the soldiers behind him repeated them. '_I know that voice…'_ Tammy thought.

She ran over to the other side of the bridge and right in front of the young soldier. The boy stopped and commanded the others to do the same. The boy took off his hat and brushed his hair out of his eyes. Tammy then knew for sure that this was him. "Kaji!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him.

"Tammy!" Kaji hugged her back and twirled her around in a circle.

"Sorry for disturbing your drill but I just had to see if it was you or not," Tammy said after parting from the hug.

"It's fine," Kaji replied. He then turned around to face his troop. "Dismissed!" He saluted his troop and they returned it before marching away. "I'm sorry I didn't come to your birthday party. I was kind of busy with…well you know. I have your present back at home though."

Tammy waved him off. "Don't even worry about it. You're the captain of your troop. Of course you had to stay on the Sun when the incident happened."

"Yeah…" Kaji trailed off as he looked away. Tammy felt bad for him at that moment. "Where are the others?" he asked, looking at Tammy again.

"On the bridge," Tammy answered. She took his arm and dragged him over to the side of the bridge where her friends were. "Guys! I found Kaji!" she grinned.

"Kaji!" the princesses exclaimed in unison then ran forward to hug him all at once.

Kaji laughed at this. "You girls sure like hugging," he said. The princes, however, were not amused. The princesses were all very aware of the fact that Kaji was seriously hot. And not temperature-wise…

Kaji noticed the hard expressions on the princes' faces, excluding Hiroshi and Uratoh. "Maybe you girls should let go of me now," he said.

Rini followed Kaji's gaze to the princes and laughed. "Don't mind them. They get jealous over _everything_," Rini rolled her eyes. But the princesses let go of him anyway. "It's nice to see you again though."

"Same here," Kaji nodded then walked up to the princes. He greeted Kenzo first seeing as he was one of his best friends. He asked about Kenzo's sprained wrist and Kenzo promised to tell him later. He then greeted Aeneas seeing that he was also very close to him too. He greeted the others but stopped when he reached Takemara. "Hey man," Kaji said and put out his hand.

Takemara looked at Kaji then down at his extended hand. He then shook his hand slowly. "Hey," Takemara said simply. An uncomfortable silence settled between them. Tammy just stood there smiling ear to ear. If it was Rini, she would have thought it was awkward having her boyfriend seeing her hug her ex-boyfriend. But Tammy was not that person. She was just oblivious as usual.

When Tammy was locked away in solitude, she was allowed to see Kaji and anyone else other than Akaaka and her guard. As long as they swore an oath to Neo-Queen Serenity to not tell anyone about it. Kaji was one of those who swore that oath. When Tammy was thirteen, they dated for about six months or so before they decided they were better off as friends. And that was all Tammy considered the sixteen year old boy now, a friend.

Takemara finally broke free of the handshake as he walked over to Tammy. He placed an arm around her waist protectively. Kaji raised an eyebrow at this as Tammy sighed and shook her head. "So Kaji, any leads?"

"None. We have most troops searching the mini-kingdoms for Akaaka and the Zodiac Senshi," Kaji said.

"Most? What do you mean by that?" Hiroshi asked.

"A war is taking place on Capricorn," Kaji told them. The group gasped. "Some of our troops are there trying to peacefully resolve the problem."

"A war? Why?" Tsunami asked.

"Since the disappearance of Princess Karen, the whole kingdom has split into two. One side defends the queen, the other defends the king. Karen was the one who kept everyone together. Now that she is gone, the kingdom has gone into war against each other," Kaji explained. Princess Karen was Sailor Capricorn of Akaaka's guard.

"Why are half defending the queen and the other defending the king?" Uratoh then asked.

"Karen had kept it a secret from us. We didn't find out until late last year. Her parents are divorcing. The king is building a new castle on the other side of Capricorn to rule in. So since the rulers are dividing, so are the people," Kaji told them.

"The kingdoms here are really dependent on their princesses aren't they?" Rini said. Kaji nodded his head in agreement.

A soldier then ran up to Kaji and saluted him. Kaji saluted him back. The solider then whispered a message in Kaji's ear and Tammy watched as his eyes widened. "Ready my troop and send them to secure the area," he commanded the soldier. The soldier nodded and ran off again.

"What's wrong Kaji?" Ariel asked.

"The Dark Senshi attacked the East District," Kaji informed them.

* * *

><p><span>AN: Such…a long…chapter. It makes me wonder how I managed to write 7,000 words once O_O But anyway, I hope you loved all the new characters introduced here! I know I did. And there are plenty more to come. I used google translate to translate all the dark magic spells into Latin (which are all made up by the way). Well except for the spell Estelle used to summon the shadow spirit. But please leave a review like always!


	7. The Key to the Journey

Chapter Seven: The Key to the Journey:

When the group arrived at the East District, it was pure chaos.

Citizens were running around in panic, trying to escape to safety. Soldiers were escorting citizens on the streets out of the district to try and evacuate the area in time. The princes and princesses couldn't see who or what was attacking yet because of the flocks of alarmed people scurrying away from the scene. They squeezed through the retreating crowd until they finally reached the centre of the district. And then they finally saw it.

Sailor Nyx was standing confidently on top of tall building, a smug expression on her face as she watched the turmoil below. Several girls dressed in the same uniform that Estelle wore scattered tanzanite jewels around on the ground. Seconds later the jewels would glow and skeleton creatures would emerge from the jewels and start destroying everything in the district.

Kaji muttered something under his breath and took out his transformation wand. He called out his transformation phrase and soon he was surrounded by a cyclone of fire. He was left in his Knight form, Orion Knight, once the blaze had died down. "Fire Sword," he said and a sword of solid fire appeared in his right hand. "We need to make sure these people get out of here safely. We cannot afford any of the citizens to get hurt."

"That's right. These citizens shouldn't have to worry about Dark Senshi attacking. It's our problem, not theirs," Rini said and took out her transformation brooch then transformed. The rest followed her example and stood in their fighting stances.

Neo Saturn was a little absentminded though. Her mind wasn't necessarily on the battle before them but the creatures in the battle. Those skeleton creatures, the ones who had emerged from Nyx's tanzanite jewels. '_They're not hers. The spell she used to activate them isn't hers. Otherwise, they would have been shadows spirits or other night creature spirits...'_ Neo Saturn thought. Sailor Nyx was the Senshi of the Night. She didn't have the power to summon skeleton spirits.

'_Ah, so they have arrived'_ Nyx thought. She jumped down from the building and landed on the ground without a noise. She raised her hand and all the skeletons stood still. Nyx turned to her minions. "Thank you girls. You may all return back to base now," she ordered them. "I'll take care of the rest."

The girls bowed and in an instant, they vanished in black clouds of smoke. Nyx held a sinister smile on her face as she faced the Senshi and Knights. Neo Moon gripped her sceptre even tighter. "Hello again Senshi and Knights."

"Sailor Nyx, why are you attacking innocent people? They have done nothing to you!" Neo Moon growled.

Nyx's smile twitched slightly. "Nothing to me? Nothing to me?" Nyx repeated as if it didn't process in her mind. "They might have not done anything directly to me but trust me, they have done horrible things."

"Tell us where Akaaka is!" Orion Knight glared at Nyx and aimed the tip of his sword towards her.

Nyx raised an eyebrow up at his sword. "I thought you have learned from my last visit. It appears you have not," Nyx said. She took a few steps forward so that she was now right in front of Kaji's sword. Kaji brought the tip of his sword up to her neck, pressing it slightly against her throat. "Go ahead. Stab me; do whatever you wish. I know you're just itching to kill me aren't you? Kidnapping your close friend and princess of the Sun isn't exactly on a list of good deeds now is it?" Nyx smirked.

Kaji's fists shook and he gritted his teeth. "Tell me where she is or I'll-."

"You'll what? Kill me? You already know that won't happen. Or do your failed attempts mean nothing to you?" Nyx asked, pushing down the Fire Sword. Neo Moon was surprised that the flames didn't harm her.

Nyx dissolved into the shadows her skeleton creatures were creating and reappeared on the roof of the building she was on earlier. She turned and faced Neo Saturn, staring her straight in the eye as if to say '_You stand no chance.'_ That infuriated Yume and Nyx once again smirked. "Attack," Nyx commanded her army simply.

The skeletons charged forward at the group but Kaji was ready for them. He ran forward and slashed his sword of fire at the attacking skeletons. Several skulls clattered to ground. It had been a while since the Senshi last saw Kaji fight and what they were seeing was pretty impressive.

Neo Moon shook her head to snap out of the daze. "OK there's no time to stare in awe. We need to fight!" Neo Moon told everyone. The Senshi nodded as the Knights readied their weapons.

"Jupiter Boreal Ivory Erosion!"

"Neptune Ocean Illusions!"

"Mercury Spiralling Cyclone!"

"Pluto Time Swirling Vortex!" The Senshi and Knights went on a fighting frenzy. Different colours from the different attacks would whirl around the district as they killed off the skeletons. But they seem almost endless in numbers. When one would die, another would take its place.

Neo Venus was fending off skeletons with her golden sword until she heard a cry of help. She slashed off a skeleton's skull before turning in the direction the cry had came from. There was a fountain in the middle of district with a statue of a soaring fire phoenix. On the statue was a young girl gripping onto the statue for dear life as skeletons crawled up the fountain. The child would shriek and scream every time a skeleton would swipe its bony hand towards her.

"Crap," she muttered and released her wings. She flew at high speed as she dodged all the bones the skeletons were throwing at her to block her path. The skeletons were getting closer to the child and Neo Venus forced herself to fly faster. She neared the fountain and called out, "Venus Heart Whip!" Her golden whip emerged out of her palm and she flicked it in the girl's direction. "Encircle!" The whip wrapped around the girl's waist and Neo Venus pulled the child towards her.

The girl let out another scream. Neo Venus looked down to see that the skeletons had grabbed onto the girl's legs and were dragging her downwards. Neo Venus landed on top of the statue and began kicking the skeletons and trying to push them off. One of them latched onto Neo Venus' leg and dug their bony fingers into her calf. She winced slightly but kicked the skeleton in the face and took the girl out of their grasps. The skeletons tried to claw at Neo Venus' wings as she flew away.

"Thank you for saving me," the girl said. Neo Venus just smiled and told her it was no problem. She landed where the soldiers were evacuating the other citizens out of the district. Neo Venus gave the child to one of the soldiers and flew back into battle, ignoring the increasing pain in her leg.

Neo Saturn couldn't believe the nerve these Dark Senshi had. She wanted to wipe the smug smirk off of Sailor Nyx's face. How could she be so comfortable with destroying lives? '_They have done horrible things.'_ That statement echoed through Yume's mind as her shadow dragon swallowed a whole group of skeletons. '_What did she mean by that?'_ she thought.

A crowd of skeletons started moving in towards Yume as she was standing there deep in thought. They pushed her back all the way to a wall of a building. Yume was struggling to kill the skeletons off since her dragon only seemed to distract a few of them while her levitation powers did nothing. The others wanted to help but they were also being attacked by skeletons at the same time.

Nyx watched Yume intensely. '_Go on daughter of the First King. Show me your power! Show me that you are truly a being of darkness!' _

Neo Moon turned just in time to see a flock of skeletons jump off a nearby building rooftop and down towards Yume. "Neo Saturn! Watch out!" she cried.

Yume looked up to see the falling skeletons with their bony fingers and legs ready to attack. Her hands started glowing black as her hair flew upwards from a sudden wind. She thrust one of her hands upwards towards the skeletons above and the other aimed at the skeletons trying to hurt her from the front. "Precipio tibi rumpere!" Yume called out. Two black beams hit the two groups of skeletons and they shattered into pieces. Yume then brought her hands upwards quickly and streaks of black lights struck down on all the skeletons and destroyed them.

She clasped her hands and closed her eyes. "Delens...current...memoria..." she recited as she attempted to erase the memories of the escaping citizens and soldiers that they had of the skeletons attacking the district. The black light suddenly vanished in an instant and Yume opened her eyes when she noticed that something wasn't right.

Nyx leaped down gracefully from the rooftop and made large strides over to Yume. "Very impressive I must admit. But that last spell of yours failed for a reason. That was a spell of Lethe that you were attempting to cast, not an open spell. You need permission in order to do that spell," Nyx smirked. "Now Dark Senshi naturally gain this permission when we have gone through the initiation," she sang in a taunting voice.

Yume growled as she moved the bangs out of her face. "This was another one of your set ups!"

Sailor Nyx rolled her eyes as she turned around in a swift motion. "Of course; I had no business in attacking. I just needed to test out a little theory of mine."

Yume was so angry that she fell for another one of Nyx's tricks. She shot forward ready to grab Nyx but Nyx simply turned back around and raised her hand and said, "Congelasco." Yume froze in mid-air unable to move her arms or legs.

"Hey! Let me go!" she shouted as she struggled in place.

"Don't worry, I'll be back very soon," Nyx smirked before she disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Yume unfroze and fell to the ground with a groan.

Kaji was surprised as he let his transformation fade. He walked up to Neo Venus. "Did Yume just do what I think she did?" he asked.

Tammy nodded, "Yup, pretty much." She let her transformation fade away as well but winced again. She looked down to see an open gash on her calf that looked infected with all the dirt and tiny pebbles that must have got in the cut during the battle. "Oh great," she muttered.

Kaji followed Tammy's gaze to her leg. "You got hurt when you were saving that little girl?" Tammy nodded once again. "Here, sit down and I'll heal it for you," Kaji said.

Tammy sat down on the edge of a broken bench and Kaji lifted her leg gently. "Wait Kaji; I can just get Uratoh to heal it for me," Tammy told him.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Kaji said. His hand lit up in blue flames and he spread them over her large cut. "Healing Fire," he muttered. Tammy stared in awe as the flames healed her wound and closed it up. Kaji let go of her leg while the flames had extinguished and Tammy stood up. She noticed that the pain was now gone.

"I never knew you can do that," Tammy said.

"Well I just learned how to use it a while ago," Kaji said with a smile. Tammy grinned back.

Meanwhile Takemara was watching this with a scowl. '_How could she be okay with all this?'_ he thought. Rini walked up to him and realized that he was watching Kaji and Tammy intensely. "Takemara you really need to calm down. They're just friends," Rini told him.

"And how do you know Kaji doesn't want them to be more than just friends?" Takemara asked.

"Kaji's a respectable person. He knows you and Tammy are together already. Besides he has another reason too," Rini said.

"And what would that be?"

Rini was quiet for a moment. "I can't tell you."

Takemara huffed. "Of course you can't," Takemara mumbled before walking away.

Rini rolled her eyes then went over to check on Yume. She was still angry that she gave into what Nyx had wanted. The worst part was she didn't even know what Nyx wanted from her.

Kenzo helped Yume off of the ground. "Yume it's going to be alright. We'll figure out what Nyx wants eventually," Kenzo said to her. Rini was surprised that Kenzo could speak with such a soft tone.

Yume stared at Kenzo then slowly nodded her head. Kenzo grinned and started leading her back to the Sun Castle.

Everyone else was confused and looked at each other blankly. "Did Yume just..." Maxine started.

"Did Kenzo just..." Kimiko trailed off.

The sentences weren't processing in anybody's minds. "Weird," Rini concluded. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and started heading back towards the Sun Castle.

/*/*/*/

A maid poured down tea for Queen Kiiro and Neo-Queen Serenity as the group finished explaining what happened at the district. The queens' faces were solemn the whole time.

"Mom, have these Dark Senshi ever attacked before?" Rini asked.

"...I can't recall an attack made by Dark Senshi before..." Neo Queen Serenity said at last. Rini had been paying close attention to this and noticed her mother casted a quick glance at Kiiro before answering. '_That's strange'_ she thought. Her mother snatched up a scone and stuffed it in her mouth to prevent herself from uttering another word.

Queen Kiiro took a sip of her tea before placing the cup back on a saucer. "Well this calls for some action. We must start immediately then with your mission," Kiiro said.

"But we don't know what to start with. I mean our investigation went poorly since we didn't know where to begin..." Tsunami told Kiiro.

"Then we'll skip the investigation. I already said our troops searched and found nothing," Kaji said.

"That's right. We need to move onto you finding the Zodiac Senshi so that they can assist in helping you find Akaaka," Serenity stated.

"But who should we find first? There are thirteen of them," Hiroshi said. He included the fact that there were two Senshi from Gemini making it thirteen.

"Kyoumou Aries is the first person you should find. She is the leader of the Zodiac Senshi when Akaaka is not around. After her it isn't of much importance of which Zodiac Senshi you should find next," Kiiro told them.

"How will we travel to each kingdom?" Takemara asked.

"That's a good question Takemara," Serenity said with her mouth full. Rini rolled her eyes at her mother's rudeness. Serenity swallowed, "Before you go on your search, I suggest you make a stop on Pluto first. I have a feeling that your home planet will be able to answer your question. It is the key to your journey."

"Why Pluto?" Kenzo asked.

"Why _not_ Pluto?" Takemara retorted.

"Think about it Kenzo. What planet deals with time and space?" Ariel asked him. Kenzo held a blank look on his face. "It isn't rocket science Kenzo!"

"Of course not; we're talking about travelling, not rockets," Kenzo said in an obvious tone. Everyone groaned loudly.

* * *

><p>The group had returned to Crystal Tokyo to pack up for their long journey. Kaji told them that he would meet them on Aries. They were mainly just packing random clothes into backpacks that they would bring while on their travels. Neo-Queen Serenity had mentioned something about being able to return to Crystal Tokyo if they needed anything along the way. The group didn't really mean what she meant by that since they still had no way of transportation.<p>

Tammy was packing some of her hair products into her bag when she heard a knock on her door. "Come in!" she called out.

Takemara entered her room and gave Tammy a kiss on the cheek. "Are you almost done packing?" Takemara asked.

"I just have to put in a few more things," Tammy answered and skipped over to her vanity table. Takemara fell back onto Tammy's bed and stared at the ceiling. Tammy took a glance at him over her shoulder. "What's on your mind?" she asked as she searched for the things she needed to pack.

"What Queen Serenity said about the answer being on Pluto. I mean I find nothing out of the ordinary on Pluto. There's a room in the palace that leads to the Time Gates but other than that, nothing. I just want to know what she meant..." Takemara trailed off.

"We'll find out what she meant soon Take~kun. Don't be troubled by it," Tammy said walking over to her bag and putting the rest of her items in. Takemara sat up and nodded but his mind was still pondering on the subject.

"Arcturus!" Rini called out loudly.

Arcturus walked into the room and to Rini's side. "What is it?" he asked.

"I need your help with my bag! It won't close!" Rini said. Arcturus looked at the bag and noticed how full it was.

"OK I'll hold it together while you buckle it down," Arcturus instructed. She nodded and Arcturus squeezed the bag together while Rini tried to buckle the strap down. The strap didn't reach and the top of the bag flew open. Arcturus yelped when stuffed bunnies hit him in the face. He stared at Rini with an eyebrow raised, "Really Rini? Bunnies? What about clothes?"

"Oh those are in all my other bags," Rini said and pointed to the other five bags full of her clothes. "And the other two are full of my shoes."

Arcturus eyed all the bags. "And who do you think is going to carry these bags all the time?"

"You silly! Duh!" Rini laughed. Arcturus frowned.

"Rini, I'm pretty sure even Tsunami and Tammy don't have this amount of bags. You can only bring one," Arcturus told her as he headed for the door.

"Aww Arcturus!" Rini whined. Arcturus faced her with his right index finger up as if to say '_One'_ then walked out of the room. Rini sighed and bent down to pick up all her fallen bunnies.

Soon everybody was all packed and ready to go as they walked to the courtyard where Serenity was waiting for them. "Everyone ready?" she asked. They nodded and Serenity opened a portal to Pluto. "Well there you go. This is the start of your journey," Serenity said. The group walked through the portal and Rini turned around to face her mom. "I will not be able to help you any further," Serenity told her daughter.

Rini's face fell. "What? What do you mean by that?" Rini asked.

"I'm sorry Rini but I just can't. You'll understand later. This is your mission now. We'll see if we can help you in any way that we could but for now, you and your friends are on your own," Serenity replied with a sad smile.

Rini was stunned. Nobody would be able to even input a bit of guidance to them. At last she nodded. "Alright mother. Goodbye for now. Tell Daddy I said bye too and that I'll miss him," Rini told her.

"I will. Goodbye and good luck Rini," Serenity said. Rini gave her a smile and walked through the portal as it closed up behind her.

/*/*/*/

Takemara led everyone to Castella Palace. All the servants and staff seemed surprised by their visit. "Welcome back Prince Takemara. I'm afraid your mother is in court so she will be unable to greet you," the royal advisor said.

"It's fine. When she is done, tell her that we are in the throne room," Takemara ordered. The advisor nodded and Takemara and the group walked off to the throne room. Takemara's planetary symbol appeared on his forehead as he touched the knob to the door. It faded quickly as soon as they entered the room.

Aeneas closed the door behind him. "So what exactly are we looking for?" he asked.

"In truth, I have no idea," Takemara answered honestly. "I just felt like I had to come here."

Uratoh noticed a door on the far side of the throne room. "Hey Takemara, where does this door lead to?" Takemara and the others looked in his direction to see Uratoh standing beside a door. It was jet black with different images of portals, hour glasses, clocks, the sun and moon, and a symbol of Pluto etched right in the middle. An antique-looking key was in the key hole.

Takemara walked over to it and studied it closely. "I've never seen this door before," Takemara stated.

"So you mean it just popped out of nowhere?" Yume asked.

Takemara nodded, "Pretty much." Takemara reached for the key that was in the hole.

"Wait Takemara!" Rini stopped him. "It could be dangerous for all we know!"

'_It is the key to your journey...'_ That line repeated itself in Takemara's mind. '_Maybe this is what the Queen meant'_ he thought. Takemara twisted the key and turned the knob. A gust of wind blew out and sucked Takemara into the doorway.

"Take~kun!" Tammy cried out before the door closed.

* * *

><p><span>AN: Chapter finished! Yes it took long but at least I got it done before the month mark so that's good :P Thanks goes out to my friend _MashiroxKensei-Kayla-1993-18_ for helping me create Kaji's powers. I love all these dark magic spells :) And if you're getting bored seeing Nyx all the time and not the other Dark Senshi, don't worry. One of them will appear soon. Anyway stay tuned and leave a review please!


	8. Pluto: The Time Keeper

Chapter Eight: Pluto: The Time Keeper:

Takemara was yelling his head off as he was falling through a time vortex. Different clocks would whirl pass him as he fell deeper in. He didn't know why he opened the door. He should have just listened to his friends instead and waited until his mother arrived to point out the door. But Takemara just had that urge to open that door as soon as he saw it. A white light flashed and Takemara covered his eyes to shield them from the light.

When Takemara removed his hands from his eyes he was back in the throne room. He looked around and saw all his friends. They seemed to be staring at the far side of the room. Tammy had her hand reaching out while the others had alarmed expressions on their faces. That is when Takemara realized the bigger picture; they were frozen in place.

He waved a hand in front of their faces. None of them reacted or anything. They didn't even blink. '_What's going on here?'_ Takemara wondered.

Then the walls started to crack and crumble. He watched in shock as the scene before him vanished. He was left standing in the middle of fog. There was not a single person in sight as far as he could see. But he did see two tall doorways. One looked very familiar as he had seen it before. On the doorway was labelled '_Time Gates'_. But the other was unfamiliar. It looked similar to the Time Gates but the doors were wide open and a plaque above the open doorway said '_Dimensional Doors'_ on it.

"The Dimensional Doors?" Takemara read aloud.

"Ah you finally arrived. Right on schedule of course." Takemara froze in place as soon as he heard the voice. It was deep and masculine but held a slight air of wisdom. Similar to the way adults and the elderly would speak.

Takemara cautiously peered over his shoulder expecting to see someone but nobody was there. He felt a tap on his other shoulder and Takemara directed his eyes to the front again. His eyes dramatically widened as he stared at the figure.

His description was difficult to process. He appeared young yet old, short yet tall, muscular yet skinny. The man's grey hair was trimmed short but not too short as if it was cut and measured every day. His beard was also nicely groomed with the slightest hint of a moustache above his lip. His sharp burgundy eyes seemed to pierce into Takemara's soul but they also had that welcoming warmth hidden behind them. His clothes was simple; a grey pinstriped suit with a crimson tie. Surely this was a person who really took care of himself.

The accessories the man was wearing threw Takemara off. He was wearing _clocks._ Not just regular digital or analog watches but sun dials and hour glasses as well on his wrists. A wall analog clock was hanging off a chain around his neck. Takemara noticed a pocket watch hung off his slacks' pocket and the man kept taking it out and flipping it open to check the time.

"W-who a-are you?" Takemara finally managed to utter.

The man frowned disapprovingly. "You know not of my name or my nature?" Takemara shook his head. The man's disapproving frown turned into a scowl. "Surely you must know my name or you are not a child of Pluto. Take a guess son; who do I look like?"

Takemara thought and stared at the man for a little longer. "You look like a modern version of Father Time with all the clocks and that business suit," Takemara finally said.

The man clapped slightly. "Very good! I should have a word or two with your mother over the fact that you are not so bright," he said with a hint of amusement. Takemara didn't find it funny; he was just confused. "I am Chronos; deity of Pluto and keeper of time."

Immediately Takemara felt ashamed of himself. "Forgive me First King. I didn't know because I thought you were..." he trailed off.

Chronos scowled again. "Deities are immortal son. Once we have fused ourselves with our planets, we are purely immortal. Don't you study Greek Mythology?"

"Well they are recognized as gods, not really deities. Plus it's myth while our history is real," Takemara answered.

"The First Royals _inspired_ the Greeks! Their mythology is based off our history boy! Well they adjusted and changed many things but it still holds the same concept." Chronos started but then stopped himself. "See now we're driving off schedule! Do not bother me with your foolish statements!"

"Hey I was just answering your question," Takemara countered. A staff with an hour glass at the top appeared in Chronos' hand and he hit Takemara on the head with the end of it. "Ow! What was that for?"

Chronos calmly walked over to the Dimensional Doors. "Come boy. There is something I must show you."

Silently, Takemara followed Chronos into the Dimensional Doors. He was surprised that they were able to walk through it so freely and with little trouble but then he reminded himself that they were both time beings. Takemara was so caught up in thought that he tripped over a step. "Wait, what?"

"Watch where you are going," Chronos barked with that sharp tone of his. Takemara looked down to see that they were now on a stone spiral staircase and they were climbing the steps. Since when were they climbing stairs?

"Where are we?"

"Canis Minor."

"Why are we here?"

"Because." Takemara was getting slightly frustrated now.

"Because what?"

"Son you ask too many questions!"

"I only ask so many because you don't answer any!"

Chronos stopped suddenly at the top of the staircase. "Many of the questions in life will not be given direct answers. Most of them you will have to seek out. And that is what we are doing now. Seeking out the answers to your questions." Chronos opened the door and walked inside the room. Takemara followed closely behind. "Now take a look at the woman on the wall."

Takemara looked at the wall and realized what Chronos was talking about. A girl who looked about seventeen was chained up against the wall. Her eyes were closed as her head drooped slightly, her deep purple hair covering her sophisticated face slightly. "Why did you bring me to her?" Takemara asked.

"She is part of your answer. The guardian of the Dimensional Doors has fallen asleep," Chronos answered.

"Is she asleep the same way the Zodiacs are?" Takemara asked. Chronos nodded. "So this girl is the guardian of the Dimensional Doors just like how my mom was the guardian of the Time Gates?"

"_Is_," Chronos corrected. "Your mother _is_ the guardian of the Time Gates. And yes it is possible for your mother to be guarding the Gates without having to physically be there," he added in. "Your mother has been alive for a long time Takemara. She never truly died, until she broke the final taboo that is. Just like Ookisa except that she never died at all."

"That's her name? Ookisa?"

"Indeed. But she is also your aunt," Chronos told him.

"My aunt?" Takemara repeated. "I never knew my mom had a sister...I thought she was an only child!"

"Well your mother's father married a noble of Pluto and they had Setsuna, your mother. Then your grandmother died and your grandfather remarried the Queen of Canis Minor. Together they had Ookisa. Ookisa is your mother's half sister," Chronos explained briefly. Takemara nodded slowly to absorb the new information.

Chronos waved his hand in the air and the scenery changed. They were now standing in the middle of a temple with an endless amount of clocks decorating the pure white walls. A huge hour glass stood in the centre of the room while a pendulum swung back and forth behind the only glass window in the temple.

"Wait!" Takemara blurted out suddenly. "My mom always said her father's name was Chronos..." Takemara trailed off. He looked over at Chronos whose lips slowly spread out into a smile.

"That is because I am. Deities have many aspects son. There are many different sides to us and when they come together they create a deity. I was able to separate an aspect of myself to become human and bear children. So if you want to get technical, only an aspect of me is your grandfather. But if you want to impress your friends you can tell them I'm your grandfather," Chronos smirked.

"So since you are immortal my mother and my aunt are able to live long lives, even longer than usual. But they're still human. What about me?"

"You're completely human. Well you age slowly as most people who reside in space do but you can still die."

"...Alright. But why did you do it?" Takemara asked.

"What are you speaking of boy?"

"I mean why did you have my mom? Other than love. Wasn't there already a King or Queen of Pluto at the time?"

Chronos' smile faded a bit. "Our history is not always full of happy moments son. The rulers at the time both died with no successors. No brothers or sisters, no children, nobody. So of course I had to save Pluto from dying. If the Time Gates and Dimensional Doors were both left open...there would be no use of the veil Apollo and Artemis created. Evil will pour in from different dimensions, worlds that even we can't understand. That's why we have guardians for these very important doorways."

Takemara wanted to ask about the veil Chronos had mentioned but decided it wasn't really all that relevant. "What happens now?"

"Anything that time wants to do. But I should probably tell you that Ookisa has no children yet," Chronos said. "That may not be all that important but it is. Right now there is no successor to guard the Dimensional Doors. This means that any relative of Ookisa who is also a time being can be the next guardian. And you are her only relative that is a time being. You will be able to handle dimensional powers while still handling your natural time powers. But your temporary dimensional powers will disappear if Ookisa awakes. These new powers I shall give to you is your Royal Blessing."

"So I will be able to gain powers like my aunt? What are dimensional powers anyway?" Takemara asked.

"You need to study the Archives of the Royals son; I'm tired of all these questions," Chronos sighed. "Dimensional powers include the ability to open portals to other places such as other planets or even other worlds. Of course there is more but your powers will never reach Ookisa's extent. You will only be able to create portals and something else that you will figure out for yourself. With this great power comes a slight consequence; you must wait at least an hour to create a portal after you have just made one."

Chronos pulled out his pocket watch and furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "Time and Space go together so tightly. One cannot exist without the other. With Ookisa asleep, it is disrupting time as well." Takemara watched as Chronos paced back and forth then stopped suddenly. "The balance between these two will be maintained through you son. Since I have given you dimensional powers that deal with great power, I should also give you the powers that you were destined to own as soon as you were born. They are the same as your mother's."

Takemara's eyes slightly widened. "Do you mean..."

Chronos let his own staff vanished and summoned Takemara's staff into his hands. He touched the end that didn't have the ruby on it and it took on a key shape. He started twirling the staff slightly. "You will have the ability to control time. This includes time travelling and even stopping time." Chronos stopped and stared Takemara in the eye. "Again these powers come with prices. You are still young so time travelling will weaken you, maybe even cause you to fall unconscious. And I suppose you already know the price with stopping time."

"I will die," Takemara said.

"Yes you will die. Whatever you do boy; do _not_ break the final taboo. Not only because you will die but also because it disrupts the balance just how Ookisa being asleep is disrupting it. Your mother...she had to realize that the hard way..."

Takemara felt bad for Chronos. He lost one of his only two daughters when his mom stopped time. Now he must have been feeling worried over the fact that Ookisa is asleep and may never wake up if they didn't succeed this mission...

"I understand. Is that all of the Royal Blessing?" Takemara asked.

"No there is more. But they deal more with your Knight powers such as attacks and so on. Those you will figure out yourself," Chronos replied. He passed Takemara's staff to him. "I know you will naturally discover the way to open portals."

"I use the key-shaped end," Takemara stated. "Wait! This is what Neo-Queen Serenity meant! She said this is the key to our journey! Me being able to open portals with my staff is our means of transportation!"

Chronos smiled. "Serenity is indeed wise. Childish but wise at the same time. Gets it from Artemis. You know I was Artemis' teacher in a way," Chronos proudly stated as he rubbed his fist against his chest.

Takemara rolled his eyes. "Yeah sure. Can I go back to my friends now?"

"In fact I was everybody's teacher. I was the oldest of course. Artemis and Apollo may rule our two dominant kingdoms but I am the oldest. Apollo was a tough one though, always fooling around with Hermes," Chronos went on.

"Um...Chronos?"

"I should probably test him just to see if his memory is still the same..."

"Chronos?"

"Yes son?"

"You need to chill," Takemara told him.

"Chill? Do you mean as in cool down or in that teen slang context?" Chronos asked.

"Looks like I'm the one answering the questions now," Takemara smirked. "Maybe you should find out for yourself and get back to me later." He headed for the door they entered through. It was still in the same place even though they were no longer on Canis Minor. "It was nice to finally meet you Chronos."

"Same to you son." Takemara reached for the doorknob. "And Takemara?" He turned around to face Chronos, surprised to hear him say his name for once. "Be careful."

"I will, thank you." Takemara twisted the doorknob and the door flew opened and sucked Takemara in so fast that even Chronos couldn't save him in time.

* * *

><p>Takemara fell onto a deep crater surrounded by rubble. He groaned as he forced himself up and brushed his clothes off. '<em>Where am I now?'<em>

The whole place was a disaster. There were crumbled pieces of marble spread all over the grey surface as few strands of smoke rose from the ground. Takemara found himself moving as he explored the place. He saw a bright flash of light in the distance and many tiny golden orbs floating up into the air and towards...

"Earth?" He knew he was no longer on Pluto for sure otherwise he wouldn't have seen Earth so close as he could now.

He moved in the direction the light and soon came across ruins that looked like they were once part of a building. Takemara turned and saw two figures; one on a rock slate and the other standing above her. He ducked behind a broken marble column so that the figures wouldn't see him.

"My dear Serenity, you have served your Kingdom proud and have made me proud as well. I thank you for your sacrifice. Sleep in peace in the land of your ancestors," the figure standing up muttered.

'_Serenity...that was also Rini's grandmother's name. It must be her on the ground then'_ Takemara thought. His assumption was later proven once he saw the silver hair of the woman on the ground. She started to sparkle and glow softly as she disappeared into the air. A crescent moon sceptre fell onto the debris covered ground.

The woman who was standing bent down to pick up the sceptre. A single tear rolled down her cheek. "My Moon Kingdom is gone," she cried softly.

'_I'm on the Moon when the Silver Millennium was destroyed...'_ Takemara thought. '_I time travelled?'_

Suddenly another figure appeared in black smoke. She held some sort of scythe except the blade was curved in a 6 like shape. Her eyes were a deep violet that held emptiness in them. Yet she seemed concerned at the same time. "You summoned me Lady Artemis?" she spoke.

Takemara almost gasped but slapped his hand over his mouth. '_That's Queen Hotaru!'_ he screamed mentally.

Artemis nodded her head sadly. "Yes Sovereign of Silence. The Moon Kingdom has fallen and Serenity has reborn the guardians who have fallen during battle on Earth in the 20th century. The ruins of this great time must be destroyed and never seen again. The Moon shall take on its dormant form until it shall reborn again," she said.

"But sister," another voice spoke out. Takemara watched as a man materialized before them wearing a white tunic with an orange sash. "Your Sanctuary, where will it go? If you destroy the place..."

"Do not worry Apollo. The Moon will always be my home. But my sanctuary will be dormant as well. I will stay on Earth with Gaia for it is written in the stars until the time when my Kingdom will be reborn," Artemis told him. '_Those must be the very First Royals, King Apollo of the Sun and Queen Artemis of the Moon'_ Takemara thought as he leaned closer to hear more.

"The Sun and all in the Sun Kingdom will fall into a deep sleep without the existence of the Moon Kingdom. My kingdom has no heir since Kiiro died here on the Moon along with Serenity. While I wait for the rebirth, my kingdom shall sleep," Apollo said. He placed a hand on Artemis' shoulder. "Be brave sister for the future will be bright."

Artemis smiled softly. "Yes it will. May the holy moonlight be with you brother."

"And may the sacred fire rest within you sister," Apollo blessed her. He then disappeared in amber sparkles. Artemis faced Sailor Saturn with a solemn expression.

"It is time." Artemis vanished in a white flash of light.

Sailor Saturn held out her Silence Glaive. '_For when the tip shall hit the ground, the kingdom shall die.'_ That was a line Takemara heard his mother say to him once when she taught him the history of the Silver Millennium. '_So this is how it all happened.' _

Sailor Saturn relaxed her grip on the Glaive and the rod fell forward. The tip of the blade struck the ground and a large shockwave travelled throughout the moon as a bright light flashed. Takemara felt himself being grabbed by something. "You were not meant to see this." Takemara heard a voice say before everything turned black.

Takemara opened his eyes. Images of different periods in time flashed before him in such an accelerated speed that he didn't have time to comprehend exactly what he was seeing. Finally the images stopped in an instant and his vision darkened once more...

He woke up in a start as someone shook him. "Takemara wake up!"

All his friends were looking at him in concern. Takemara felt Tammy's arms wrap around him tightly. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

He was still in a daze though even after Tammy had released her grip on him. "What happened?" he asked.

"What do you mean? You got sucked in by the door and when you came out, you were unconscious," Ariel said.

"What did you see Take~kun?" Tammy stared at him with questionable eyes.

Takemara looked back at all his friends. "I think I saw...everything."

* * *

><p><span>AN: So much Takemara in this chapter :D Something I'm going to try with this story is devoting at least one chapter entirely to a character. It makes sense with the storyline anyway! Thank you for all the reviews and encouragement of course! Also I apologize with the lame chapter names but I rather have lame ones than none at all. Anyway please leave a review!


	9. Desert Storm

Chapter Nine: Desert Storm:

Tammy walked briskly down several hallways in Castella Palace trying to locate her boyfriend. After telling the group briefly what happened, he suddenly stood up and ran away. He was acting very strange ever since he came out of that door. Tammy wanted to know why and wasn't going to wait around for the answer.

She finally spotted Takemara out on a balcony. He seemed to be in deep thought watching the life of the country down below them. Tammy quietly took a few steps towards him and placed a hand on his left shoulder. "Takemara," she began. No answer. "Takemara, I want to help. But I can only help if you tell me what exactly happened when you went through that door."

She heard a sound come out of his mouth, sounding fairly similar to a scoff. Takemara peeked at Tammy out of the corner of his eye. "You really believe you can help me to understand what I just saw? Really Tammy?"

Tammy stayed silent watching Takemara turn around and face her. He told her everything, from his encounter with Chronos to seeing the Silver Millennium die in front of him. He could tell she was trying her best not to show any signs of surprise or shock in her expression but Takemara knew her too much to know when she put a mask on or not. "That wasn't even the bad part of it all. Someone pulled me back and whether they meant to or not, I saw everything that happened since the destruction of the Moon Kingdom," he said.

"Do you have any guesses on who that person could have been?" Tammy asked him.

"It could have been Chronos but I doubt he would have pulled me back when he could have just sent me back to the present the easy way. It had to be someone there who survived during the attack and was a time being..." Takemara trailed off as the answer became clear to him. "My mother," he mumbled.

"...I don't think she would have wanted you to see all that," Tammy told him.

"Yeah but I did. I may have not understood everything but I saw them. I understood the recent ones though. I saw the time Rini got captured. I watch the Sun Kingdom get attacked while we couldn't help them. I even relived the moment of your death," Takemara said.

Tammy reached towards him. "Takemara-."

Takemara pushed her arms away from him. "Save it. I don't need another lecture about trying to move on from it," he said. Tammy watched as he headed towards the exit. "Tell the others that I'll be ready to make a portal to Aries later today."

Tammy sighed when Takemara left. _'This is the worst time to be disconnected'_ she thought.

/*/*/*/

Rini raised an eyebrow upon Tammy's return without Takemara as she fell backwards onto a sofa. Tammy turned her head towards Rini with a tired look.

"So where's your "Take~kun" Tammy?" Kenzo asked with a slight hint of imitation in his voice. Yume gave Kenzo a look to tell him that it wasn't the time to be mocking people.

"I don't know," Tammy answered tiredly. "But he said we can leave for Aries later this afternoon."

"Alright. I guess now would be a good time to brainstorm about where Mou could possibly be," Rini said, calling the princess of Aries by her nickname.

"It's hard to brainstorm places when all the search parties found nothing on their investigations..." Uratoh pointed out.

"I wish Queen Setsuna could help us out a bit," Arcturus sighed.

"Who wants to play a game then?" Kenzo asked. Rini turned to stare at him. "What?"

"Really Kenzo? A game? At a time like this?" Rini raised an eyebrow.

"Well I was hoping we could just go to Aries now but since Takemara is being Mister Moody and we have no brainstorm ideas, we need something to pass the time," Kenzo said with a shrug.

"You go do that Kenzo. Meanwhile Aeneas and I are going on a walk," Kimiko said as she stood up. Aeneas looked at Kimiko with a reluctant face. "Oh come on." Kimiko grabbed his hands and dragged him away.

"I'm tired so I'm going to take a nap while I still have the chance," Tammy said then yawned to prove her point. She stretched her model long legs out on the couch and slung an arm over her eyes.

"Alright so that's," Kenzo paused to count the remaining people left, "ten people who can play the game."

"Count me out Kenzo. I'm going to try to break into Aries' military force operations and see if there's any hidden tunnels or military related escape routes. There's a possibility Mou can be in one of those," Ariel said standing up with her computer tablet in her hand. She headed towards the balcony just outside the main living quarters.

"I'm going to go help her," Maximillian said then followed Ariel.

"I doubt anything is going to get done between those two if you know what I mean," Hiroshi smirked. Tsunami rolled her eyes then got up from her spot on the chaise.

"Oh so you're going to leave too?" Kenzo groaned.

"Yeah. I haven't talked to Michael in forever. I just want to know how he's doing. Au revoir!" Tsunami blew kisses at her friends as she exited the room.

"Make that seven people left," Yume pointed out. "Why do you want to play anyway?"

"I just told you why! I'm bored!" Kenzo said.

"But nobody wants to play," Arcturus said with a moan.

"Yeah and your games are pretty lame Kenzo. I'm going to find something to eat. You coming Uratoh?" Hiroshi asked him. Uratoh nodded and the two walked out of the main living quarters.

Arcturus, Rini, Maxine got up. "Sorry Kenzo but we rather do anything else than play your game," Rini said with laugh.

"Whatever. You guys suck," Kenzo scowled at them.

Arcturus laughed. "Sorry dude," he said, walking towards the door with Rini.

Maxine turned back. "You're not coming Yume?" she asked.

"I'm just going to stay here and relax for a bit. You go ahead," Yume told her. Maxine shrugged then followed Rini and Arcturus.

Kenzo looked over at Yume who had leaned back against the chair cushions. "Why didn't you go with them?" he asked.

"And leave you all alone? There are too many fragile things in this room, I wouldn't trust you alone," Yume said with a playful smirk. She put her arms behind her head as Kenzo searched through his backpack for something. What he was looking for Yume didn't know. Soon he pulled out a plastic bag full of gummy worms. "Ah so you wanted to play 'I Never'," she guessed. The group always played I Never with gummy worms since they were everyone's favourites.

"Yeah but everyone decided to be losers and ditch so I guess more worms for you and me," Kenzo said with a grin. Yume laughed and Kenzo laid back vertically along the other sofa. "Sour or regular?

"Sour." A gummy worm was tossed in Yume's direction and she used her levitation to bring the candy towards her before grabbing it with her other hand. The two just rested there in silence eating their worms happily. It was weird how Yume could feel so calm and normal with just Kenzo there. With some of the others, she felt as if she was trying to hide all the time. Trying to hide who she really was.

"Truth or dare?" Kenzo asked in a bored manner.

"Truth."

"What really happened to that breathing condition of yours?" Yume stopped chewing as Kenzo sat up to look at her. They connected eyes and Yume knew then that he didn't buy her earlier statement. She told the group just yesterday after their visit to the Sun about how her condition was better now and the medication was really working. Of course it was all a lie since it was really the amethyst necklace doing the work.

Yume crossed her arms and leaned back again. "You figured out it was a lie?"

Kenzo chuckled slightly. "I know you Yume. Now how did you really get rid of that cough?" he asked again. Yume sighed and pulled out the necklace from her pocket. "What does a necklace have to do with this?"

"Look at it closer Kenzo," Yume instructed him, tossing the necklace over in his direction. He caught it and studied it in his hands.

"Hey isn't this-."

"Yes it is," Yume cut him off. "Nyx gave it to me when I was in the interview room with her just before she escaped. I know it seems bad but she told me that it would get rid of the pain and it did. The medication was just delaying the effects."

"I don't know how to react to this Yume. But you should be careful because I'm pretty sure this," Kenzo tossed the necklace back to her, "might have come with a price."

"I know, I know. I just want to be...normal like the rest of you guys," she admitted. "I haven't told anyone else this so you have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Yume haven't you learned that none of us are normal?" Kenzo said with a smile. "And yeah I promise not to tell. Only because I know you will eventually." Yume gave him a grateful smile and he threw another gummy worm at her. She caught it perfectly in her mouth. "Sweet." Yume laughed along with Kenzo. They continued to eat and talk for a while until they both fell asleep too.

* * *

><p>"Gummy worms! I want some!" Uratoh said. The others arrived in the living room about ten minutes ago and discovered Yume and Kenzo sound asleep on the sofas. Not too long after they found the near empty plastic bag of gummy worms on the floor beside Kenzo. Yume rubbed her eyes and sat up once she heard her brother's voice.<p>

She looked over at them with tired eyes. "Hey guys. What's going on?" she asked.

"Takemara says he's ready now. It's time to leave," Rini told her.

Yume checked the time on her phone and realized she was right. It was half past four. She got up and walked over to Kenzo, shoving him. It took a couple minutes of more shoving for Kenzo to finally wake up. "Oh we're leaving now?" he mumbled as he stretched.

"Yeah. Follow me," Takemara said heading in the direction of the courtyard. Tammy walked beside him while the others followed. The two walked beside each other in silence until Tammy finally spoke up.

"Takemara I get why you're acting like this but you really have to move on. I mean sure you saw some tragic things happen but I'm sure that you saw the good things too. The happy moments that happened in history. What about those Takemara?" Tammy said. Takemara didn't answer her. "You know I'm right. And I hope you know I'm not going to deal with this moody side of you throughout this trip," she added in.

He still didn't say anything as they walked into the courtyard. Takemara summoned his staff and everyone realized the alterations made to his staff. "Everyone ready?" he asked. They all nodded and Takemara took a deep breath. '_OK, this should be easy. Mom does it all the time and so does Neo-Queen Serenity'_ Takemara thought. He held his staff up and traced a large enough circle in the air for all of them to fit through then waited. The circle didn't light up and show the destination like it was supposed to.

"Are you sure that's how you're supposed to do it?" Maxine asked Takemara.

"I'm not sure..." Takemara admitted. The group stared at him. "Hey! It's not like this thing comes with an instruction manual!"

"Did Chronos even tell you how to open portals?" Rini asked this time. Takemara thought about it then remembered.

"Oh yeah I forgot to do one more thing," he said sheepishly. Rini rolled her eyes as Takemara traced another large circle then pointed the key-shaped end at the middle of circle and twisted it clockwise to unlock. The circle lit up and the image of the front of Mou's castle appeared. Takemara stepped through the portal first to make sure everything was fine before gesturing over to the others and telling them to cross. They all went through the portal and it closed behind them.

All of them looked at the rest of Aries' capital before the castle. Aries was one of the three military constellations. Phoenix and Orion being the other two, the latter was newly considered to be military. Normally the soldiers here looked refined and very disciplined but right now, they seemed a bit panicked as they scrambled from the command station to the castle and the capital.

"Alright let's find Mou's parents," Rini suggested then started towards the front door when the line of soldiers in front of the castle blocked her path. Rini stared at them in shock since they never acted that way before on any of her previous visits. "Um excuse me?"

"Her Majesty the queen requested that upon your party's arrival princess that you should be directed to the military's command station. The general will come with the car to pick you up soon," the soldier in the middle of the line told Rini.

"Oh alright. Thank you," Rini said politely then turned back to her friends. She guessed they heard the conversation because now everyone was just sitting on the ground waiting for the general's arrival. Ariel gestured Rini over with one hand as she kept typing furiously with the other on her computer tablet. Rini always wondered how she could type so fast whether it was with both hands and or just one hand.

"What is it Ariel?" Rini asked as she sat down beside the blue-haired genius.

"I've been thinking of Takemara's first meeting with Chronos. And I remembered a time when Arcturus and I were little and our mom was telling us about the time she met our First King. It made me wonder why none of us have met our First Royals in person until today. We all know who they are and any special deeds they've done but we haven't actually been to their sanctuaries and temples to meet them personally," Ariel said.

"Yeah that is a bit weird," Rini agreed. She recalled a time when her mom talked about the First Queen of the Moon. The strange part was how her mom never told her what happened to Artemis after the Moon Kingdom was destroyed.

"Anyway back to what I really wanted to say. I've been trying to locate some kind of guess as to where Mou could be but I found this really interesting myth about the First King that could give some kind of indication on Mou's location. It talks about Aries' sacred fire and the form the king took on after he stepped down from the throne," Ariel told her.

"You mean the giant bonfire in the courtyard of the castle?" Rini asked.

Ariel nodded. "Our First Royals are portrayed as personified giants with regular human features and all that stuff. But with the constellations, they are portrayed differently. Some are personified such as Virgo the maiden but others are animals or even objects such as Aries the ram. The first royals of the constellation kingdom were first personified deities then afterwards when they merged themselves with the very kingdoms they created, they became immortal and gained different aspects. One of their aspects is their celestial form. A form everybody would recognize and could identify their kingdoms with. And that's where all the animal representations originated from."

"Now with Aries, their First King created that large bonfire so that all the citizens could take a piece of the fire and start one in their homes. When he passed, his personified aspect merged within the fire. But the other, his celestial form, roams around Aries and only seen when he wants to be. He appears as a fiery ram made up of a body with red and orange flames with horns of white fire and a fiery gaseous tail like a comet. With our knowledge the First Royals inhabit their sanctuaries and their temples after merging. Though with constellations they only have temples which they can go to through pathways or the direct summoning."

"This myth says that it is rumoured that there is a mountain where his celestial form lives and only a royal of Aries could gain access to the mountain. I'm guessing the mountain is supposed to be the Temple of Aries. It also mentions that the sacred fire is one way of the pathways to get to the Temple of Aries. But it also says that many dreamers have tried to travel to the temple by land only to find nothing on their discoveries," Ariel finished at last.

"Are you trying to say that Mou could be at this mountain?" Rini asked.

"If she was at the temple then she would have been safe. Plus the Dark Senshi would have to have been royals of Aries to gain access. I'm saying that maybe if we try to travel to this mountain Mou could be hidden along the way and we can save her then. I would have to know the exact time and location when she was taken first to confirm this though," Ariel said.

"Well it's the only lead we have so we might as well go with it," Rini spoke as she stood up.

A stretched black limo pulled up to the castle's bridge at that moment and Kaji stuck his head out of the window. "Guys! Come on!" he called out waving at them with a smile.

Rini laughed slightly and waved back. "We're coming!" she called back as the others got up from the positions. The driver exited the limo and opened the door for the group as they piled into the limo and the car drove off to the command station.

Rini certainly didn't expect much once they arrived at command but it was still very surprising. As soon as they made it to the centre of the station they were given several items including two sets of car keys, several stapled packages of paper and some items that the group didn't already have in their backpacks and were dismissed. They were now standing in the middle of an abandoned lot searching for the two vehicles they were assigned for their mission.

"OK aren't any of you guys a little suspicious by how they just prepped us then waved us off in less than two minutes?" Aeneas asked suddenly.

"It's like they're all going out of their ways to make sure they help us as little as possible," Maximillian said.

"I don't like this," Kimiko muttered.

"None of us do Kimiko," Kenzo said.

"No but I have a really bad feeling about this whole thing. I haven't been able to see a single vision about anything that may happen since Akaaka's disappearance," Kimiko said with a sigh.

"Great we're doomed to fail," Uratoh grumbled.

"Hey don't say that! You know what will happen if we don't find Akaaka so it's important that we do. Look here are the cars," Rini said stopping at two Hummer-like vehicles. "Now who is old enough to dr-."

"That's definitely me!" Hiroshi said with a grin then grabbed one of the car keys from Rini. Everyone groaned upon realizing that Hiroshi was one of the two people out of the group who could drive. "Quit your groaning! I'm an awesome driver!"

"More like a dangerous one! You drive so recklessly on the road!" Maxine protested. She once got in a car with Hiroshi and he ran several red lights, took illegal U-turns and nearly ran over poor pedestrians.

"Yeah but we have no choice so..." Tsunami grabbed the other car key and ran to the driver's side of the second car. The girls quickly jumped into the car and locked the doors. "Boys go with Hiroshi!" Tsunami laughed while the girls behind her cheered.

"We'll die before we even save Mou," Arcturus muttered. He and the other guys reluctantly climbed into the car as Hiroshi got in the driver's seat. He turned the engine on and speedily drove out of the parking lot. Tsunami followed behind at a more moderate pace.

A few seconds later, Hiroshi's and Kaji's faces appeared on the screen in the girls' car dashboard. "Alright so where are we going?" Kaji asked.

"We must go to the place where the desert and forest meet and line the star Polaris with this point of a famous rock at exactly eight o'clock. It should light up a pathway to get to the temple of Aries," Ariel informed them though the video communicator.

"How did you find that out?" Hiroshi asked.

"I read," Ariel told them simply, as if that explained it all. When the boys looked at Ariel blankly, she sighed and went on to explain. "Mou went missing at eight o'clock right?"

"Right. It was on one of the papers in the package they gave us," Aeneas confirmed.

"And where was she at the time?"

"On a desert mission..." Arcturus trailed off.

"See? If this pathway really exists like it says in the myth then Mou would probably be found somewhere there," Ariel concluded.

"And there goes our little evil genius Ariel solving problems with no difficulty," Rini said with a smile. "We're lucky to have you."

"What about me? I'm smart too," Arcturus said with a pout.

"Yeah sure whatever you say," Hiroshi waved him off. "Send us a map," he told the girls. Soon the screen split into two halves, the bottom one showing the map. "Even at top speed this is going to take a long time. The desert and forest are like on the other side of the capital."

"Patience is essential to this mission. The more patient we are, the more time we'll gain in the long run," Takemara said.

"Oh so you're all poetic and philosophical now Takemara? Interesting," Hiroshi said with a slight laugh.

"I'm surprised you even know what 'philosophical' means," Takemara smirked. Hiroshi scowled and focused on the road ahead of him.

"I suggest you guys get some relaxation time now instead of later," Ariel told them all. They all nodded and adjusted themselves to more comfortable positions.

An hour or two later they finally entered the desert as the sun was setting, giving the whole place a deep red-orange glow. The girls were chatting and making fun of the boys while the boys were just fooling around like usual. Hiroshi kept trying to cut off Tsunami who overtook the lead from him several times.

Kenzo gazed out the window watching the desert and the sunset. The desert reminded him of home which made him want to complete this mission as fast as possible. Then his mind somehow shifted onto Yume. It was odd how their friendship grown to the point that she trusted him to keep secrets she hadn't told anyone else. It almost seemed like she was a different person but he could tell that she was the same person that she was last year.

'_Wait, why am I even thinking about her?'_ Kenzo thought. His mind came up with a blank as he stared at the orange sky. He spotted a ram running across the horizon. Then he really noticed the special thing about the ram; it was blazing. It was as if the whole ram was made up of flames with a long fiery tail that flowed like water. Kenzo blinked then rubbed his eyes and looked out into the horizon again. The ram was gone. '_I am dreaming way too much these days'_ he thought with a shake of his head.

"We need to pick up the pace! We still have a long way to go," Uratoh complained from the backseat.

"Hey if I could speed, I would but Tsunami's in my way," Hiroshi said with a groan. "She's too girly that's why."

"I can speed if I want to! I just choose not to," Tsunami argued through the video communicator.

"Oh yeah?" Hiroshi knew the right way to challenge Tsunami in order to get what he wanted in the end.

"Yeah!"

"Then let's see!"

"Fine!" Tsunami slammed her foot down on the gas pedal and the car shot forward. Hiroshi smirked and accelerated faster to cut in front of Tsunami. But then she sped up even more to meet up with Hiroshi's car. They glared at each other through the window when Rini suddenly pointed to the front.

"Stop guys! There's a little girl on the road!" Rini shouted. The two siblings broke their stares and their eyes widened at the sight of the girl in the middle of the road. They both slammed on the brakes and came to a screeching halt.

"Dammit Hiroshi! Look what you did!" Tsunami shouted at him as she got out of the car. The girls followed Tsunami out of the car as did the boys with Hiroshi.

"I didn't make you do anything! You have control over your stupid actions!" Hiroshi shot back at her. Tsunami narrowed her eyes and raised her hand when Rini stopped her.

"Enough fighting! We have to see if the little girl's OK," Rini said. Tsunami lowered her hand but was still glaring at Hiroshi as they ran up to the little girl.

The little girl had white bangs covering her eyes and hair that reached her shoulders. Black streaks were found all over her hair. She held a white stuffed bunny in her hands and wore a long white dress with black shoes. Despite the unusual hair style, she looked like a typical little girl. Rini bent down in front of the little girl. "Hello there. Are you lost?" she asked.

The girl, who had her head lowered, raised it so she was looking at Rini in the eyes. Her irises were a light lilac coloured while her pupils were silver. She smiled then leaned forward to Rini's ear. The little girl opened her mouth, "Dormio." Yume's eyes widened, hearing the single word but was too late to react when Rini fell over onto the ground.

That was when the monsters started to attack.

* * *

><p><span>AN: Eh I'm not completely happy with this chapter but it was better than I thought it would turn out. Lately I've been ending chapters with cliffhangers...I don't know why. I'll try to get out of that habit. Also I have the feeling that there are some grammar mistakes in this even though I read it over like five times. Anyway I hope you guys are happy with the chapter nonetheless and please leave me a review :)


	10. Aries: The Fiery Ram

Chapter Ten: Aries: The Fiery Ram:

The monsters came in great numbers charging at the group. The ugly creatures were blocking everyone's view on Rini but they knew that the little girl was not just an innocent little girl anymore. She did something to cause Rini to fall over. They just needed to know what she did. But only Yume knew the cause.

"I'll get Rini," Tammy said taking on the role of second in command as she released her wings. "These monsters are just trying to delay us from getting to our location on time. So we cut through as many as we can then we escape got it?" The others nodded then pulled out their transformation wands to transform.

After Yume transformed she ran up to Tammy. "Wait I need to go too. I know what happened to Rini. Maybe I can break it somehow," Neo Saturn said. Tammy nodded and transformed into Sailor Neo Venus. She started glowing faintly as she picked up Yume with her arms then started to fly over to Rini. The monsters, however, noticed this and began trying to attack the pair.

"You guys! I can't dodge all these attacks!" Neo Venus yelled to the group below. They were trying to distract the monsters and getting them to focus on the group instead. So far their efforts were in vain. Two monsters released wings of their own and began flying towards Tammy and Yume with their claws extended.

Orion Knight drew out his sword and spun it once. His sword evolved into two individual blade-like objects. Since his kingdom was about hunting, his sword was able to transform into any sort of weapon by simply commanding it or spinning it once or twice. Kaji threw the two blades at the monsters and they sliced the monsters in half with exact precision.

His hand lit on fire as he pumped his hand into the air. "Rain of Fire," Kaji called out then the fire he created turned into burning ashes and fell on most of the monsters. The others attacked the monsters that dodged Kaji's attack. This gave Tammy and Yume enough time to fly over to the other side where the odd girl was still standing over Rini.

"Step away from Rini," Yume said while her hand was out towards the girl.

The girl turned around to face the two with that sly grin. She began circling them slowly. As she did, Yume swore her age appearance changed from a little kid who looked about six to a girl who looked about their age. Yume blinked and found the girl still looking the way she was before. '_I think I'm going crazy. Or she's taunting me'_ Yume thought. "You put a sleeping spell on Rini. You're working with the Dark Senshi aren't you?"

The girl giggled and spun around in a circle as black smoke engulfed her and she disappeared. Tammy and Yume looked at each other then approached the sleeping Rini. They heard some growling behind them and turned to come into eye contact with three hideous monsters. The monsters swiped their hands towards them and they both leaped out of the way. Yume used her levitation powers to bring Rini closer to them again.

"Yume do you think you can break the spell?" Tammy asked, still keeping an eye on the approaching monsters.

"I can try but it might take awhile for the cure to actually take effect. We might not have the time," Yume said.

"Try then. I'll hold these three off while you do," Tammy said. Yume nodded as she kneeled down beside Rini.

Tammy leaped back towards the monsters and cried out, "Venus Shining Shockwave!" The monsters were temporarily blinded as the hearts came into contact with their bodies though only two of them exploded into dust. The other dashed forward and tried to grab Tammy while she ducked and kicked behind the monster.

"How much time do we have?" Neo Jupiter asked frantically after slicing a monster in half with her razor sharp leaves.

Neo Mercury looked at the now dark sky with the moon out and calculated the approximate time remaining. "Half an hour!" Ariel called back. She then stabbed a monster in the neck with an ice shard. "We have to leave or we'll have no chance of making it in time!"

"I need a bit more time!" Yume told the others. She hovered her glowing hand up and down Rini's body as fast as she could but that was all she could do to make the process go a bit faster.

"How much then?" Sir Venus asked.

"I don't know! Just hold them off a little bit more OK?" Yume answered with an edge. She was annoyed by the fact that she was trying her best yet her friends were still expecting more from her. Yume took a deep breath and continued her curing spell on Rini.

"She's doing the best she can so just leave her!" Sir Mars snapped at Aeneas.

"I'm just saying that we have to go!" Aeneas shot back at Kenzo.

"Stop your fighting!" Sir Jupiter growled at the two. He then heard Yume calling out to them saying that they could go now. But when Yume stood up with Rini in her arms, several monsters blocked her way to the two vehicles and the others. Maxy raised his sledge hammer high and called out, "Jupiter Thundering Destruction." His lightning bolts cleared the monsters out of Yume's way. He ran forward to meet Yume and took Rini from her arms easily.

Tammy, who was still in the air fighting, saw the three ready to go. "Tsunami! Hiroshi! Start the cars!" she ordered them from above. They nodded their heads and after finishing off a couple of more monsters, they both dived into their respective cars and turned on the engines. The others began making their way to the cars as well while still attacking the monsters that were left. Tammy landed on the ground and ran behind Maxy and Yume to defend them if any monsters tried to do anything sneaky.

Maxy laid Rini down in the girls' car before running off to the boys' car. Yume went in after Rini was in the car. Tammy was the only one remaining. "Tammy get in!" Neo Neptune called out through the window.

"Just a minute!" Tammy told her as she neared the front of the car. She turned around to face the monsters with her hands out. "Venus Heart Whips Encircle!" The two golden whips shot out of her two hands and wrapped around the remaining monsters. She quickly jumped into the backseat of the girls' car and Tsunami quickly put the gearshift to drive.

Both cars accelerated at maximum speed at the monsters and ran them over, crushing them in the process. They only slowed down a little bit after they were long gone from the clearing but they were still speeding in order to get to the destination in time.

The girls looked over at Rini who was still sleeping but now she was glowing white faintly. "What did you do to her Yume?" Neo Mars asked.

"I put a curing spell on her. Since it's my first time doing this it might take a while for Rini to actually wake up. But right now the magic I used is breaking down the spell that little girl used on her so at least it's working," Yume explained to them.

Tammy nodded and then leaned forward to the front where Tsunami was driving and Ariel was in the passenger seat. "Do you think we'll be able to still make it on time?" Tammy asked Ariel.

"It's a tough call. The speed we're going at now is good but it might not be enough to get there on time," Ariel answered.

Yume overheard this and sat forward from the backseat. "I can make the car go faster," she said. "But I can only control this car from inside. If you'll just let me go on the roof of this car, I can control both..."

"Are you crazy? You'll fall!" Tsunami said while still focusing on the road.

"Just trust me. If we don't get on the pathway tonight we'll waste time waiting for the next day." Yume pointed out as she leaned forward to the front. She pressed a button on the dashboard and the glass panel covering the roof of the car slid open. "Give me some kind of signal to tell me when to stop," Yume reminded them. She then propped herself up through the hole and kneeled down on the roof trying to keep her balance.

Kenzo's face appeared on the video screen in the girls' car. "What in the name of Mars does Yume think she's doing?" he demanded.

"She's going to speed up the cars so we can get there on time," Ariel said calmly. She trusted in Yume's powers and knew Yume was beginning to be more careful with them. Otherwise they wouldn't take the risk.

"But she might fall off," Kaji said.

"Don't you think we know that? Yume said to trust her so that's what we'll do," Maxine told them.

Meanwhile on the roof of the girls' car, Yume managed to stand on her feet. She secured her feet on the roof with a spell to make sure she wouldn't fall off. '_I wonder if my magic is even strong enough to do a spell like this'_ Yume thought.

"_Oh they are. Your dark energy is one of the most powerful in the solar system. Maybe even the most powerful,"_ a voice in her head told her. Yume stood still, wondering where the voice came from. Eventually she just shrugged and started thinking about a spell. She aimed her open right hand at the boys' car and kept her left hand facing down at the roof of the girls' car.

"Accelerari," Yume said simply. A faint purple light surrounding the two cars and they suddenly jerked forward in speed. The girls shrieked by the sudden speed boost while Tsunami and Hiroshi tried to keep the steering under control. Yume kept muttering the same word over and over in order to keep increasing the speed of the cars. Soon the surrounding scenery was a blur.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Maxine groaned, holding her stomach.

"We're nearing the destination! Someone tell Yume that she could stop now," Ariel said.

Kimiko pointed her finger upwards where the roof was opened. She sent a trail of fire that burst into bigger flames once it was outside just ahead of Yume. They waited for a while but the purple glow was still surrounding the two cars, making them go even faster.

"Why isn't she stopping?" Sir Mercury asked frantically through the video screen.

"I don't know! Maybe she didn't see the signal?" Tsunami guessed.

"How wouldn't she see a big burst of flames in front of her?" Kimiko said.

Kenzo rolled down the window on his side to be greeted by a blast of wind. He looked out the window to see the same little girl from before holding her hand in front of Yume's face. Kenzo could tell the girl was doing something to Yume so that she couldn't stop the cars from speeding. He rolled up the window again and then slid the glass panel on the roof open.

"What do you think you're doing Kenzo?" Takemara asked.

"That little girl from before is doing something to Yume. I need to stop her," Kenzo answered. "Hiroshi get closer to the girls' car," he ordered. Hiroshi nodded as Kenzo pulled himself up onto the roof. He had to hold onto the sides of the car to prevent him from losing his balance and falling off the fast moving cars.

His hair was moving wildly all over the place. Kenzo took a deep breath then jumped over to the other car, rolling on the roof on impact. Once he steadied himself Kenzo knelt on his knees and held onto the hole in the roof. "Get away from her or else," he warned the little girl.

The little girl dropped her hand and turned around to face Kenzo. She cocked her head to the side. Slowly she began growing taller as her hair extended past her shoulders. A white hooded cape covered most of her face and most of her body. Kenzo did see part of her skirt though. It looked oddly familiar to a Senshi's skirt. She seemed to be studying Kenzo carefully before smirking.

"You're a fire being right? That means you like fire?" the girl spoke. Her voice sounded tough but still feminine. Kenzo stared at the girl in silence as the cars continued speeding. Yume was still stuck in her position, her hand still glowing. The hooded figure snapped her fingers and the road underneath lit up in black flames. "Shall we play a little game? You try to stop me from controlling your friend and I throw you into the flames. Sounds good?"

"Just leave Yume alone," Kenzo growled.

"It doesn't matter what you do. She'll eventually evolve to her true potential. She'll eventually become one of us and destroy you all without a second thought," the girl said. Kenzo knew she was trying to tempt him to attack or make a move but he couldn't help but get angry by her words. "You won't be able to change the fact that she doesn't belong with you guys. She belongs with us."

Kenzo pulled out his nunchucks from the air and pointed them at the girl. "Mars Scorching Fireballs!" he called out. A line of fireballs shot towards the girl.

The girl simply laughed and held out her hand. The fireballs were all cancelled out by the black energy beam that came out of her palm. She then started moving her hand in a circling motion and Kenzo was lifted up from the roof. The hooded figure flicked her hand to the side and Kenzo went flying backwards and towards the fiery road behind them.

"Yume! Snap out of it! Yume!" Kenzo called out her name. He tried to grab her hand as he was falling off. He merely touched her fingertips before he fell off the car.

Something seemed to stir in Yume when Kenzo's fingers came in contact with her own. She blinked and turned around just in time to see Kenzo fall. "Kenzo!" Yume shouted.

In the mere second Yume was distracted, the girl moved her hands forward in a sweeping motion and knocked Yume back into the fire as well. The girl then let black smoke engulf her and she vanished.

"What's going on out there?" Tammy wondered once she heard several bumps and noises from inside. Kimiko quickly poked her head through the hole on the roof in the girls' car while Maximillian did the same in the boys' car. They both saw no one.

"They're not there anymore!" Maximillian said once he brought his head back down.

"What?" Ariel shouted. "How could they not be there?"

"That little girl must have done something to them! We need to go back," Uratoh told them.

"I would but I don't have any control over the car anymore!" Tsunami informed them, turning her steering wheel frantically.

"Same here!" Hiroshi was also trying to regain control over his car. The two cars kept speeding until a fallen tree appeared on the dirt road they were on. The cars both flipped over the trunk and kept flipping until they both stopped.

* * *

><p>Tammy crawled out of the broken window of the girls' car coughing and moaning. She wasn't feeling too good and one of her wings didn't feel so right but other than that, she seemed fine. She struggled up onto her knees and took a look of the things around her. Her friends were spread out all over the area and all out of their transformations. Most of them seemed much worse than she was which was not a good thing at all.<p>

They were waking up now, groaning and coughing like she was earlier. Some had cuts and bruises while others looked like they couldn't even move that much. Tammy had no idea what to do.

"Is everyone alright?" Tammy asked. Immediately she knew that was a stupid question. Before someone could speak up with a smart remark she said, "Alright forget that earlier question."

Uratoh was healing himself in the meantime. Kaji was doing the same. Soon they both felt better and walked over to Tammy. "We can heal everyone but probably to a certain degree," Kaji told her.

"That's good enough," Tammy assured him as Uratoh healed her left wing. Once he was finished she got up from the ground and stretched. "Thank you Uratoh. I'm going to see if I can find the first aid kit," she said and went over to the wrecked cars. Uratoh and Kaji went over to the others and healed the ones with minor injuries first.

After Arcturus was healed, he walked over to Rini who was still in her sleeping state. He noticed that there wasn't even a single scratch on her body. "Hey Tammy come here for a second," Arcturus called her over. Tammy walked over to Arcturus' side. "Rini was untouched by the crash," he told her.

"That's pretty remarkable," Tammy agreed. "But she's still sleeping. What should we do?" Arcturus shrugged as the two continued to look at Rini.

/*/*/*/

'_Where am I?'_ Rini thought as she walked down a white cloud path. She had no idea where she was going and seemed to be walking down this path for a very long time now. The bright light that she saw before was still in front of her. Rini had been following it the whole time trying to find a way out.

She finally reached a large golden iron gate. It was unlocked so she pushed it open and walked inside. There she found a large fountain with clear water flowing out of the statue spout. Rini leaned forward and looked at her reflection in the water. It slowly began to dissolve into a silhouette of a young woman. Soon the young woman in the water was fully revealed. She had white flowing hair and lilac eyes.

"Welcome Rini. I've been expecting you," the woman said softly.

"Who are you? And where am I?" Rini asked her.

"Those two questions are of little importance. But right now I understand that you need help and so do your friends," the woman said.

"Yeah where are my friends?"

"Don't worry they're safe. You're all on the right track but you still have a very long way to go. You need as much help as you can get. Search the waters until you find a ring," the woman instructed Rini. She did as she was told and started searching. Soon she found a ring with a diamond and crescent moons engraved in the band of the ring. Small pink gemstones and pearls were also encrusted into the band.

"Alright I found it." Rini showed the ring to the reflection.

"Good. Rini this is the Awakening Ring. It has great awakening powers. When used correctly, it can wake people up from deep slumber," the woman explained.

"Okay...but how do I use it? And why do I need it anyway?" Rini wondered why this strange woman in the water was trying to help her.

"That is for you to figure out when the time comes my child. I promise you it will be useful throughout your journey," the woman said as she began fading. "Now wake Rini."

"Wake? I'm sleeping? Is this a dream?" Rini kept rambling off questions as the figure faded away.

/*/*/*/

"Hey she's waking up! Rini? Rini can you hear me?" Arcturus asked shaking her gently.

Rini's eyes soon flickered up as she sat up. "What's going on? Where are we? And why does my head hurt so much?"

"Yeah...we kinda got into a crash after our escape from some monsters. Ariel's trying to figure out where we are," Arcturus briefly explained. Rini nodded as she rubbed her head. She figured the crash was the reason behind her massive headache. Then Rini remembered the woman in the water and brought her hand down to examine her finger. There, on her middle finger, was the Awakening Ring. Tammy followed her friend's gaze and saw the ring.

"Hey that's pretty! I didn't see you wearing that before. Where did you get it?" Tammy asked.

"In my dream..." Rini trailed off. She honestly thought the woman in the water was just a figment of her imagination and she'd been dreaming the whole time. But now she knew that the dream had a real purpose behind it. Rini looked up and saw Arcturus and Tammy giving her strange looks. "I'll explain later. Right now we need to find Mou," Rini said as she stood up. Tammy and Arcturus followed Rini over to where Ariel was. "Hey Ariel. Do you have any news for us?"

"Oh hey Rini! Glad to see Yume's spell worked. Anyway the sad thing is my brand new top of the line tablet my mom gave me for Christmas got destroyed in the crash," Ariel said with a frown. She showed them the broken tablet.

Arcturus rolled his eyes. "You know mom is just going to give you a replacement once you tell her what happened," he told her.

"Yeah but still, it's sad," Ariel pouted. "Luckily I still had the Sailor Mercury hand-held that your mother gave me Rini. And with it I discovered that we made onto the pathway. We must have crossed into the path when we were flipping in the cars," she said.

"That is good news. Now we just have to travel down this road until we find Mou," Rini said. She glanced over to where everyone else was getting treatment for their injuries. But she noticed that it seemed like there were people missing. Rini then realized Kenzo and Yume were the ones who were missing. "Hey where is Yume? And Kenzo?" Rini asked.

"They kinda got...separated from us," Tammy answered slowly. She wanted to answer in a way that Rini wouldn't get too worried about them.

"What? And you guys just left them?" Rini asked in disbelief.

"We honestly didn't have a choice. We ran into some Dark Senshi problems and they enchanted the cars so we lost control and couldn't turn back," Arcturus informed her.

"Well did you try contacting them?"

Ariel nodded, "The transmission went flat. All we got was static." Rini sighed and put her hand to her forehead in exasperation. The sudden news seemed to worsen her headache.

"I guess we have no choice but to go on without them and hope they're okay," Rini finally decided. The other three nodded in agreement as the others joined them. "It's too bad that we have to travel by foot now."

"Especially with all these injuries," Hiroshi added in.

Rini shrugged and the group began their walk. During that time, everyone filled Rini in about everything that happened from the moment Rini fell over in sleep. Rini told them about her strange and the Awakening Ring in return. The moon was shining brighter each second as they travelled on.

Maxine yawned, "I'm a bit tired. What time do you think it is?"

Ariel gazed up at the moon. "Just passed midnight," Ariel replied.

"Do you think we'll be able to find Mou around this time?" Rini asked.

"I don't know. Mou could be anywhere. The myth said something about how adventurers would walk down this path for an endless amount of time. We can walk down this road for a week and still not find her," Ariel told them all.

"We still have to try," Kaji reasoned. "They didn't put us on this mission just to have us lose hope."

"Kaji's right. We have to keep searching," Tammy agreed. After that the group continued to walk in silence. Rini stayed at Arcturus' side while she kept inspecting the ring on her finger. She still wanted to know who the woman was and how she was supposed to use the ring. The woman's appearance resembled her grandmother's, Queen Serenity, but Rini knew it wasn't her. The woman's eyes had distinctive dark purple flecks in them and her hair wasn't in the signature bun style that Rini's grandmother and mother wore. She thought about this for a while, wondering who the mysterious woman could be.

Kimiko was walking with Aeneas when she suddenly stopped walking. Aeneas stopped as well and raised an eyebrow up at her. "What's wrong?"

"Something doesn't feel right," Kimiko muttered. She stood still for a second before her eyes widened. "Duck!" she shouted. Everyone immediately dropped to the ground as a blaze of black flames flew over their heads. They looked up to see two giant black birds breathing fire out at them.

Tsunami was the first one to transform. Once she did she drew back her hands and thrust them forward. "Neptune Aquatic Typhoon Crash!" she called out to counteract the black fire. During this brief moment everyone else transformed as well and began attacking the two giant birds.

'_I bet we're close. That's why the birds starting attacking. We must be really close to Mou'_ Rini thought. She stared out into the distance and saw something sparkle in the moonlight. Without hesitation she began running towards the sparkle, leaving her friends behind.

"Rini!" Arcturus called out to her but Rini ignored him as she continued to run. A third giant bird swooped down from the sky and began closing in down at Rini. "Rini watch out!"

Rini heard this warning and turned around to see the bird soaring down towards her. In the spilt second Rini blinked, a large animal leaped in front of her and breathed out flames of white and orange fire at the bird until it was merely a pile of ashes. Rini and the others found themselves staring at the animal...and the people who were on it.

"Yume! Kenzo!" Rini exclaimed as a big grin overtook her face. Kenzo, still in his Knight form, saluted Rini with a laugh while Yume gripped the back of his uniform tightly, her knuckles ghost white. Then Rini realized the bigger picture; they were riding on Aries the Ram.

A large cry erupted from the Ram as he stopped his hooves. He then charged forward at the other two giant birds. He leaped into the air while Yume screamed her head off and breathed out more fire at the two enemy birds. They burnt into nothing in less than two seconds. Aries landed on the ground again, trotting back to Rini. Once he stopped, Yume jumped down from the giant ram's back, literally shaking. But Kenzo stayed put on the Ram sitting up proud and strong.

"Yume! I'm so glad you're safe!" Rini ran forward to give her friend a hug. "I heard you're the one who helped me wake up. Thank you."

"No problem," Yume smiled.

"So I'm guessing Aries was the one who found you guys?" Ariel asked.

"Yes! It was so surreal. Just as we were about to fall into the fire he came out of nowhere and caught us," Yume told her.

"He explained to us that since Aries descended down from Mars, he could sense when a royal of Aries or Mars is in trouble and that's how he found us. Well he could have found us even without this sense because he's a deity and all," Kenzo added in. "Now he says he feels the power of an Aries royal just ahead."

Rini nodded, "Let's go then!" She and the others began running towards the sparkle Rini saw earlier with Kenzo riding on Aries behind them. Then they saw it. A black force field crackled with electric currents while Mou was trapped in dark crystal still in her Senshi form and standing up. Her eyes were closed but Rini could tell her face showed barely visible signs of life.

Takemara stabbed his staff into the force field where it crackled and didn't break. He brought his staff back in. "How are we supposed to get through this thing?"

Rini sighed. She knew this wasn't going to be easy but she really wanted to try and save Mou with little problems. "_Rini..."_ a voice said. Rini stood still to hear the voice. _"Rini this is a chance to use the ring. Use it to break through the force field and awaken Kyoumou Aries,"_ the voice instructed.

"How am I supposed to do that though?" Rini asked. Her friends turned to stare at her wondering who she was talking about.

"_Just set your mind on saving her and your body will follow,"_ the voice told her. Rini waited for more instructions but she couldn't hear the voice anymore. Rini looked down at the ring which was now beginning to shine. '_Set your mind and your body will follow'_ Rini thought. She subconsciously took her brooch off the bow on her uniform and raised her hand with the Awakening Ring on it. Rini lined the ring with the pink jewel in the middle of her brooch and the ring shined brighter than before.

"Moon Awakening!" Rini cried out. Two bright lights, one pink and the other white, shot out of the ring and the brooch and wrapped around Rini's body. The lights burst into sparkles and there Rini stood in a short light pink dress that substituted the usual shirt and skirt of the Senshi uniform. Her boots, collar, bows and gloves were now pure white. Rini was no longer wearing a tiara but instead her crescent moon symbol showed. She took a minute to study herself before walking right up to the force field.

Rini raised the brooch again and slid her hand with the ring in front of it. As she did, a small silver knife-like object formed. She grabbed the object and realized it was a dagger. The hilt of the dagger was engraved with moon crescents and swirling lines. Rini gripped the dagger and dragged the blade down the side of the force field. She then punctured it and the entire force field broke apart.

"Whoa that was pretty cool," Uratoh admitted.

"I have no idea how I did that," Rini told her friends. She started approaching the dark crystal Mou was encased in while her friends followed closely behind. The dagger disappeared from her fingers and her brooch rested itself back on the bow of her dress. The ring was still glowing brightly. Rini stopped her friends from going any further and climbed up to the exact crystal Mou was in. She closed her eyes and swiped the ring along the surface of the crystal. She rested her palm on the surface then whispered, "Holy Moonlight Awakening."

Sudden white beams of light started seeping out of the crystal and eventually the crystal shattered into pieces. Rini had to shield her face from getting hit by the shards. When she uncovered her face, she found Mou standing there blinking and looking around confused.

"Where the hell am I?" Mou wondered. She finally noticed Rini and the others. "Rini? What are you guys doing here? And what's going on?" she asked.

Rini smiled softly and took Mou's hand. "Don't worry, we'll explain. Right now we need to go," she said. Mou slowly nodded and Rini started guiding Mou back down to their friends.

* * *

><p><span>AN: Man I missed the monthly mark again :( I'm very sorry with the lateness again. I had absolutely no time to type this up until this weekend. Some parts I had to write down on paper first before typing which I really don't like to do but it actually helped me in a way. Rini's new "form" is kinda the equivalent to Sailor Moon's Crisis form if you were wondering. This is a pretty long chapter though :/ Anyway I'm going to try to start the next chapter as soon as possible but I still don't know what exactly I'm going to focus on for that chapter. So yeah please leave a nice little review for me! Thanks!


	11. The Prophecy

Chapter Eleven: The Prophecy:

Mou sat on a rock as the group explained to her what happened in the past few days. After doing so, Rini transformed out of the form the Awakening Ring gave her. Mou asked questions while she regained her lost energy. It seemed that the dark crystal she was encased in had a side effect that it drained the energy from whoever was encased in it.

"But Mou, how did you get trapped in the first place? Do you remember at all?" Maxine asked her.

"Well I was on a desert mission as you know when I saw a little girl on the road. She looked like she was trying to find her way to some place so I followed her to make sure she got there safely. She waited at Red Rock until eight o'clock when the pathway to the temple of Aries lit up and she ran off. I ran after her of course but it was like she had super speed or something. After a while she stopped then turned and looked at me. And that's when I blackened out," Mou told them.

Yume's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Do you remember what she looked like?"

Mou rested her chin on her hand in thought. "She had white hair I think with black streaks all over. Her eyes were very unique. Silver pupils with light purple irises. I've never seen eyes like those ever," Mou said.

"Then it is her! That little girl is a Dark Senshi," Yume pointed out. '_One of the partners Nyx told me about. The question is, what's her name and how many more Dark Senshi are there?'_ she wondered.

"We will talk about this later. Right now we need to get back to the castle. It's pretty late and we all need some rest," Rini said.

"I can call Ookisa and she can make us a portal back to my castle," Mou suggested.

"Yeah we forgot to mention something. Ookisa is trapped too," Takemara told her then summoned his staff again. "So you're going to have to settle for me. Everyone ready?"

"Wait! I need to say goodbye first," Kenzo said, referring to Aries. He jumped off the giant ram's back and stood in front of him. They seemed to be sharing a mental conversation.

"_May you succeed and find yourself in this mission descendant of Mars,"_ Aries said to him mentally. As Aries wished Kenzo good luck, Kenzo's planetary symbol glowed.

"Thanks Aries," Kenzo smiled while his symbol stopped glowing. Aries nodded slightly then called Mou to approach him. Kenzo left as Mou walked up to Aries.

"_You are going to need much strength and determination to succeed. May you be shielded from danger and come out victorious, Kyoumou Aries,"_ he spoke. A cyclone of fire sprung from the ground and showered Aries with the flames. The flames subdued and Mou stood there in her civilian form. Her symbol was still glowing bright and she felt much better than before. _"I wish you and your friends well."_ Aries turned and started walking around from the group.

"Wait Aries!" Mou called out. He stopped and turned his head to face Mou. "Thank you. I hope I can see you some time soon," she said.

Aries nodded his head, _"I'll be waiting until that time."_ He then leaped into the sky and galloped off, leaving a fiery trail behind him.

"One Zodiac down, twelve more to go," Rini said. "But we'll find them all in time. Takemara, the portal?" Takemara created a portal to the inside of Aries' castle and everyone went through it.

As the portal closed behind the last person, a soldier saw them and was about to call an intrusion when he noticed Mou's symbol. All it took was a small explanation of what had happened to get him to leave and report Mou was found. Mou's symbol finally faded as she guided the others to the guest quarters where there were plenty of beds for all of them to sleep in. They all dived into the beds without hesitation.

* * *

><p>It was almost noon by the time Rini opened her eyes. She walked over to the bathroom wearing the clothes from the day before and found that someone hung up an outfit from her bag to wear today. <em>'Probably one of the maids'<em> Rini thought as she picked up the hanger. Once she got ready and walked to the dining room, everyone was already eating their breakfast; or lunch in this case.

Rini let out a yawn as she sat down in the empty seat between Arcturus and Kaji. "Well good morning sleepy head. Glad you could finally join us," Arcturus said with a smile.

"Shut up. I was dead to the universe when my head touched that pillow," Rini muttered. A server quickly prepped Rini's plate and gave her a croissant as an appetizer. While she took a couple of bites out of the croissant, Mou's parents entered the dining room.

"Ah Rini you're finally awake. How was your sleep?" Mou's dad asked, resting his hands on Mou's shoulders.

"It was good. Thank you King Perseus," Rini replied with a smile.

"No we should thank you. For finding Mou," Queen Cynthia said. "We should have thought of looking for her on the pathway."

"It was no problem. Ariel was the one who figured it all out," Rini told them. They nodded and complimented Ariel's intelligence. She graciously accepted the compliment like always. But for some reason Ariel still felt like Mou's parents already knew, or made an assumption, about Mou's location. They seemed smart enough to figure it out on their own, let alone with all the military technology they had. Did they not find Mou on purpose?

Mou's parents talked with them for a bit then left to deal with some business. Rini laid back against her seat feeling satisfied. "So...who should we find next?" she asked.

"I think we should go by time of disappearance. If that thing about the dark crystal is true, the Zodiacs who have been missing for a longer period will have a lower energy level than the ones who disappeared not too long ago. Only thing is that we'll need a list with all the times and dates," Ariel said.

"I can ask my dad if they have any information on it in the database," Mou offered.

"I doubt they will give you the information. They didn't really help us to find you. In fact I think by even telling us the place and time of your disappearance was helping us too much," Ariel responded.

"It doesn't hurt to try though," Tammy spoke up. Mou nodded and stood up from her seat and left to find her parents. When she left the princes and princesses continued to talk among themselves. It was mostly about their vacations since they really didn't want to talk about the Dark Senshi. Kimiko was about to eat a piece of he pancake when she dropped her fork and sat there frozen.

Aeneas looked over when he heard the fork drop. "Hey Kimiko? Kimiko? What's wrong?" He tried to get her attention but Kimiko just sat there in shock. She suddenly gasped and her hands flew to her throat. Aeneas tried to help her but Kimiko pushed him away, standing up from her chair as she continued to gasp.

"What's wrong with Kimiko? Is she choking?" Rini asked frantically as she stood up as well. She ran over to Kimiko's side. "Kimiko, what's wrong?"

Kimiko didn't answer as she began to shake uncontrollably. She fell to her knees and her bangs covered her face. Her hands dropped to her sides and she stopped gasping and shaking. Then a voice came out of her mouth, _"This journey will be covered in darkness and sorrow. There shall be ones that won't see a tomorrow. The flame that had gone gray shall revive with the golden ray. The one whose fate is intertwined with early death, will kill and die when the dagger takes thy final breath._" The voice stopped and Kimiko fell forward. Everyone stared in shock. Aeneas continued trying to gain Kimiko's attention while everyone else was trying to process what they heard.

Aeneas placed a hand on Kimiko's forehead and brought it back in an instant. "Ouch! She's burning up!" Aeneas told his friends.

Kenzo snapped out of shock just in time to roll his eyes. "No duh, she's a fire being Fairy Boy," he pointed out.

Aeneas gave him a hard glare, "I mean she's hotter than normal. See for yourself." Kenzo got up from his seat and crouched down beside Kimiko. He checked her temperature by placing his hand on her forehead.

"For once you're right. She's having Martian Fever. Maybe it's a reaction to...whatever happened earlier," Kenzo guessed. Ariel was on the other side with Rini checking to see if anything else was wrong with her.

"Well I think everything else is fine. We should bring her to her bed though," Ariel suggested. Aeneas nodded and picked Kimiko up in his arms.

She moaned, "I feel terrible. I never had Martian Fever since I was five..." Kimiko continued to mumble as Aeneas listened and carried her off to the bedroom. They all waited until Aeneas and Kimiko left the room then stared at each other. The words that came from a voice that did not belong to Kimiko. The eerie words that foretold a future of misery of sorrow. Did those words hold any truth?

"OK there's no need to feel frightened," Rini started off carefully. "First we need to find out what exactly just happened and then analyze the words to see if there's any truth to them."

Maxine faced Kenzo, "Has that ever happened before?"

Kenzo shook his head. "That never happened to Kimiko before but I think I remember my mom going through something like that. But I was too young to remember what exactly happened," he answered.

"She went into a prophetic trance," Ariel concluded. Everyone turned to look at Ariel who had her hand-held out.

"Don't you mean psychic trance?" Hiroshi asked.

"No. Kimiko _definitely_ went through a prophetic trance. There is a huge difference," Ariel began. "The gift of prophecy that most Martian royals have was a gift from Apollo to a princess of Mars long ago. Psychic trances are the usual visions one can have about any event that may happen in the future. These can be controlled and even called upon with great practice and experience. But then there are prophetic trances. These happen during times of crisis and usually predict dark events that will happen in the future. A prophetic spirit takes over the psychic's body and that's the reason why Kimiko's voice sounded so different."

"Because it was the spirit speaking," Uratoh said.

"Exactly. Since it takes a lot of energy for the spirit to temporarily take over the body and such, the psychic usually experiences some kind of sickness afterwards. The most common is Martian Fever," she explained.

They nodded their heads. It made more sense after Ariel's explanation. But knowing now that the words of prophecy Kimiko spoke were true made them all feel even more anxious. So anxious that nobody said a word.

"_You know that prophecy has something to do with you. The question is, are you the one who dies or are you the one that kills?"_ the voice in Yume's head asked. Her eyes widened as her skin seemed to pale. She instantly stood up and headed towards the door.

"Excuse me for a second," Yume mumbled then left the room completely.

Kenzo was about to get up and run after her but Rini was already following Yume. She had to run after her since it was obvious that Yume just wanted to escape from everyone. She caught up to Yume when she stopped outside on a balcony, her face hidden by her hair. Rini placed her hands on Yume's shoulders. "Yume," Rini started. "Why do you run away from us?"

She stayed silent as Yume raised her head to look at Rini. "Isn't it obvious? You know I'm the one the prophecy talks about. So why bring more trouble when I can prevent it by myself?"

"Because you're our friend. We were meant to do this together. And whether you are the one the prophecy talks about or not, I intend to keep it this way. Just believe Yume and we can stop the Dark Senshi together. I'm not going to abandon you under any circumstances," Rini finished off then smiled. Yume slowly started to smile back.

"Fine you're right," Yume finally said.

"I'm always right," Rini laughed. Yume did as well and finally relaxed.

* * *

><p>Arcturus was walking down a hallway in the castle trying to find Rini. It was almost evening and everybody wanted to meet together again and choose the Zodiac they were going to search for next. The others were already in the living room so they were just waiting for Rini. <em>'She's always runs off like this'<em> he thought as he turned a corner. He ran into someone and stumbled back slightly.

"You should really watch where you're going," the person said.

"I'm really so-." Arcturus stopped in mid-sentence. The person wasn't even a person. It was a water sprite. He stood there and gaped at the sprite who was probably female judging by the facial features.

"Stop staring," she said. Arcturus immediately looked down at the ground. "You are Prince Arcturus right?" He nodded his head. "Great! Follow me please!" Arcturus did as he was told and followed the sprite until they reached a large room with a giant pool filled with water so blue that he couldn't see the bottom. "Now wait right here," the sprite instructed him then disappeared into mist.

"I don't remember this being a room in Mou's castle..." Arcturus muttered as he looked around. There was a beautiful stain glass picture of a mermaid in the water on the roof. This definitely didn't look like a room in Mou's castle.

He stepped right to the edge of the pool and peered down. "Arcturus?" He looked up to see Ariel at the other side of the pool, now making her way to him. "Do you know what's going on here?"

"Nope. Some water sprite led me here," he replied.

"Same here...this is starting to freak me out," Ariel said.

"Good you're both still here," the water sprite from earlier said, appearing behind them. "He said he can see both of you now. Have fun!"

Before either could question, the sprite pushed them into the water and a whirlpool of water sucked them in.

* * *

><p><span>AN: Haha this time I beat the mark! Well barely but still. I was writing this the whole break and it's still short :( So yeah I took a break from the action to give a little filler chapter. I'm hoping I could start speeding up the pace for this story so I could try to get it done this year but that may be hard since I plan this story to be _at least_ thirty chapters. Way more than ACAG. By the way, I think there are some spelling mistakes so I'll correct them later after I publish it. Anyway please leave a nice review!


	12. Mercury: The Messenger of Water

Chapter Twelve: Mercury: The Messenger of Water:

Ariel screamed as she held onto Arcturus's arm while the whirlpool brought them deeper and deeper into the water. She had no idea why she was really screaming; it was just water after all. Being sucked underwater by a whirlpool all of the sudden was actually pretty exciting.

The water began to calm around them as they landed on the sea floor. Coral reefs of different colours and sizes surrounded them as endless different fish and water creatures swam quickly past. Ariel immediately stopped screaming once she saw the scenery. It was all so beautiful.

Arcturus was in awe too. He remembered visiting Neptune's oceans multiple times but this sea had a different atmosphere to it. Almost as if all of it belonged to him and his sister. He looked at Ariel who was having the same reaction that he was having. He didn't normally see her eyes light up _that_ much unless she was reading a well-written book, hanging out with Max or whenever she played pranks.

"Do you have any idea where we are? Other than being underwater?" he asked. Since water was their element, they were able to breathe and communicate underwater with no problem at all.

Ariel pulled out her compact computer that she always carried with her now ever since her tablet broke. "No but I can try to find out. Just give me a second," Ariel replied. She hoped her computer could at least list places nearby as she had a feeling they were definitely not on Aries anymore. The results appeared on the screen and Arcturus leaned in to take a look as well. The two groaned in frustration when they discovered the computer found zero results.

"Now what?" Arcturus muttered.

"Maybe our communicators?" Ariel suggested. The two tried to contact the others but all they received was static.

"Okay...so our communicators didn't work either," Arcturus sighed. "Should we just transform?"

"What use would that do? It'll only threaten them," Ariel responded.

"Threaten who?" Arcturus asked. Ariel didn't answer but Arcturus noticed she was looking past him. He looked over his right shoulder and met eyes with the water sprite he saw earlier. This time she was accompanied by three other sprites, two of them male and the other female. They all carried tridents in their hands except for the sprite that brought them here. She was carrying a clipboard in her hands and Arcturus also noted she wore an earpiece that looked like a seahorse tail. Maybe it was a seahorse tail.

"You should listen to your sister Prince Arcturus," the sprite began brightly. "You don't want to threaten us when we're trying to do you a favour."

"So kidnapping counts as a favour now," Ariel muttered.

"Once we reach where we're taking you, it will be a favour! Now come along children, my lord is a busy man and we cannot afford late arrivals to appointments. The sprite turned around and started walking (or floating) off in a direction. Arcturus and Ariel shared a look; the water sprite looked younger than they did and she was calling _them_ children? They were reluctant to follow until one of the male sprites turned and smiled at them, showing off his shark-like teeth. Ariel and Arcturus didn't take it as a friendly gesture and hurried off behind the lead water sprite.

As they traveled further, they noticed the temperature decreasing somehow. It was getting much colder but it didn't really bother any of them. Other than the water shifting movements created by the bustling activity around them, there was silence among the group. Ariel hated silence during times like this. She just had to break it. "Uh so...what are your names?" she asked. Ariel caught the look Arcturus was giving. She guessed he was wondering if she really cared about their names in the first place.

"I'm glad you finally asked!" the lead sprite exclaimed. "I was getting bored with the lack of conservation. I'm Aqua. She's Lympha and they are Lacio and Stallos," Aqua said as she gestured towards the other sprites. They each gave small smiles to Ariel and Arcturus.

"Well it's nice to meet you all," Ariel replied with a smile of her own. "Are you going to tell us where you're taking us?"

"Nope! It would ruin the surprise honestly! My lord hates ruined surprises. Do not worry; we're almost there."

"You can't even tell us who your lord is?" Arcturus asked. Aqua only smiled and kept her eyes forward. Arcturus's shoulders slumped at the lack of response. He just wanted to at least have some sort of clue of what to expect. They were just walking aimlessly underwater. Arcturus wasn't even sure Aqua was completely sure about which direction to go judging by her smile that hadn't faltered since they met. But he assumed the sprite knew these waters much better than he did of course.

Aqua stopped, making Ariel and Arcturus stumble forward slightly. Arcturus groaned loudly. "You couldn't at least tell us you were stopping?" Aqua only grinned. That smile was starting to make him a little irritable.

Ariel scanned the place they stopped at. It was mostly just water of the vast sea. However, not everything was just water and coral reefs. A huge cave sat on the sea bed with icicles hanging from the roof. Inside the cave, glistening ice lined the walls in various intricate designs. Ariel observed that most of the designs were snowflakes.

"Wow...this is beautiful," Ariel breathed out. She always had a soft spot for detail and the designs were surely detail oriented.

"I know right? We usually hang out around here for lunch and other things when we are on a break. But the place at the end of this tunnel is where we are heading, if you must know Prince Arcturus," Aqua said, directing the latter part towards Arcturus. He rolled his eyes slightly but he had a smile on his face.

Ariel was already stepping into the cave by the time Aqua finished speaking. She did not even check to see if the others were following or not. She just wanted to explore the magnificent cavern more.

"Not so fast Princess. There are many smaller tunnels in this cave. You wouldn't want to get lost," a soft, gentle voice said. Ariel looked over her shoulder and saw one of the male sprites from earlier. She remembered him being the one named Lacio. She never got a clear look of him earlier but she did now. He had turquoise hair like Tsunami's but his was cut at the nape of his neck. A side bang swept over his shockingly blue eyes. His eyes seemed intense like lightning and could pierce right through a person. They were intimidating yet also attractive...

Ariel realized she was still staring at him and Lacio was giving her a very questionable look. "Oh! Sorry. Yeah you're right. I guess I wouldn't want to get lost here no matter how beautiful this cave is," Ariel said as she ran her hand along the icy walls.

Lacio smiled at her comment. "Yes the cavern is indeed beautiful. Shall we head back to the others?"

"Wait for one second," Ariel said. She took out her compact computer and took a photo of a wall that she deemed had the best designs she had seen so far. She thought it would look great as a screensaver or something. "Okay now I'm ready," Ariel nodded at Lacio and he began leading her in the correct direction. The engravings on the walls piped her curiosity again as they walked. "Say Lacio, since Aqua said you guys usually lounge around here, you should know who created these designs," Ariel said.

"Actually I don't." Ariel visibly showed her confusion. Lacio continued, "In fact, no one knows who made them exactly. They've been here since forever. We tried asking our lord about them but he didn't give us an answer."

"Your lord character sounds more interesting by the second. I want to meet this guy," Ariel mumbled as she crossed her arms.

"Well you can now. We've arrived princess," Lacio announced.

"Arrived where..." Ariel trailed off with her question as she stared in awe at her surroundings. It was almost like an ice palace and a business centre mixed together. The centre was bustling with activity as more sprites and other creatures scrambled around. The ceiling rose high above them with daringly large icicles and ice spikes looming down. A skylight in the ceiling revealed the stars of space. Ariel didn't know how that was even remotely possible as they were at the bottom on an ocean. This place was so weird yet fascinating at the same time.

"There you are Ariel!" Ariel turned her attention to her brother who was approaching her with Aqua and the other sprites. "Why did it take you so long?"

Ariel shrugged, "I guess I got too distracted by the beauty of everything." Arcturus nodded but Ariel saw the way he glanced back and forth from her to Lacio. It almost seemed like a suspicious type of glance. Ariel suddenly figured what her brother was thinking and shook her head furiously. She couldn't believe her brother would even assume something happened between her and Lacio. Sure Lacio was cute but he was no Maximillian. Arcturus put up his hands in defence as an apology. Ariel rolled her eyes.

"Anyway we welcome you two into our realm. Our lord is waiting for you behind those doors," Aqua said, pointing to a pair of ice covered doors. "Luckily we made it just in time."

"Well thank you for bringing us here," Ariel thanked the sprites. '_Even if it was in a very kidnapping style'_ she thought.

"No problem. But just before you go we have something to give you," Aqua said. She motioned towards Lympha and Stallos who gave Ariel and Arcturus each a disc of metal in the shape of a snowflake. They were quite thin and small enough to fit in their pockets. "They are basically indestructible. If you ever need help with something while on your journey, just use those," she informed them.

"How do we use them?" Arcturus asked while examining the disc.

Aqua laughed lightly. "You're children of Mercury. You'll figure it out. Now off you go!" Aqua waved them off. Arcturus and Ariel thanked them again and tucked the discs inside their pockets before heading over to the doors and walking through them. The room they entered seemed like a throne room except less ice was visible and covering the walls. It had a modern, comfortable look to it.

"Ah, children! You've finally arrived! I hope your journey was interesting!" Arcturus and Ariel searched for the source of the voice until a man stepped out from another doorway on the west wall. The man looked like a young CEO of a very successful company. He was wearing an ice blue dress shirt under a black vest and wore black slacks with gleaming black leather shoes.

His face was kind but his eyes were the most alluring. They were a deep sapphire blue with a tint of gray as if an artist decided to effortlessly mix the colours together for paint. The man had his chestnut brown hair styled up in a fohawk-like style and had a silver Bluetooth earpiece. He held a silver cane with two silver cobras coiled around the rod as he walked towards Ariel and Arcturus with a smile on his face. "My, both of you look pretty old now," he mused. His voice wasn't really deep but it had a real charismatic tone to it.

Arcturus cleared his throat. "Uh yeah...do you mind telling us what's going on exactly...sir?" he tried. This man was making him feel weird and uncomfortable for some reason.

"Sir?" the man repeated. "No need for that Arcturus. It makes me feel old; well I am but it doesn't mean I should feel like it. If Artemis can go prancing around as a sixteen year old girl then I can certainly appear as a man in his 20's. We stop aging at that time anyway," the man shrugged.

"Are you feeling freaked out like me right now?" Arcturus asked his sister. Ariel nodded; this man seemed strange for some reason. "How about you tell us your name since Aqua never called you anything but 'my lord'," he tried this time.

"You want to get straight down to business I see. Well then." Hermes strode up to Ariel and handed her a business card. "Hermes is my name. I do all types of stuff but I'm mostly about messaging and tech and all that. It's great to finally see you two again," Hermes ended with a grin. Ariel and Arcturus only stared back at him, undoubtedly with their jaws dropped. This young businessman in front of him was Hermes, the First King of Mercury? They just couldn't believe it and yet it explained everything.

Hermes laughed at their reaction. "And I thought your mother's reaction was funny. It is a little too open here to talk. Follow me into my office and I will surely clear things up." Hermes headed back in the direction he entered from while Arcturus and Ariel trailed behind.

They entered a room with several flat screens mounted on one wall and a long table just in front of another wall. Monitors with touch screen keyboards installed onto the surface of the glass were present on the long table. Ariel noted the many smaller tablets and landline and cordless phones resting on Hermes's large wooden desk in the center of the room. His name was engraved on the titanium name plate sitting on his desk. A large painting of the solar system was on display for all to see on the wall behind the desk and an ivory marble statue of a Greek Hermes stood proudly beside it. Arcturus whistled at the sight of the room; it was pretty impressive.

"Take a seat," Hermes gestured to two identical comfy chairs facing the front of his desk. The two did as told while Hermes sat on the edge of the desk. He pressed a button on one of the tablets and a cup of coffee appeared. He offered some to them but they both declined. He then set his cane to lean against the desk beside him.

He smiled at the two, "You're probably wondering why you two are here."

Arcturus raised his hand slightly. "Yeah, where exactly _is_ here?" he asked.

"Well Mercury of course! This is the sanctuary of Hermes! Right now you're in my temple," Hermes answered. Ariel nodded appreciatively at the new information.

"Just like Takemara when he visited Chronos when we went to Pluto," Ariel noted.

Arcturus came to a realization. "Wait we're on Mercury?! We were just on Aries!"

Hermes gave a shrug, "You did spend a long time underwater did you not?" Arcturus decided to drop it; they were dealing with a deity after all. These things didn't have to make sense.

Hermes brought his hand up to his Bluetooth earpiece. Arcturus assumed someone was contacting him. "Oh...yes everything is prepared. I'll send it right away," Hermes said before sipping his coffee. He touched a button on his earpiece, "Stallos I need you at port three please." He then tapped a button on one of his tablets and a small hole in the floor appeared. He picked up one of the many packages strategically scattered around the room and dropped it into the hole. It closed up right after. Hermes grinned at the two. "Cool right?"

Arcturus and Ariel looked at each other. They didn't know what to say. "Um...sure," Ariel tried. Hermes seemed satisfied enough with the answer.

"Packages and messages leave left and right around here. I have my own business and market within this sanctuary. A lot of work but who else would do it? Plus I like it; it's fun playing with all this tech," Hermes gestured around him. His office was pretty cool, especially with it being filled with tech.

"Now kids, I brought you here to tell you that you guys are on the right track. However, you must quicken your pace. People prefer express deliveries these days," he began after taking another sip of his coffee.

"You're talking about our mission to save the Zodiacs right? But I thought we were doing pretty well with our time. I mean we just saved Mou yesterday," Ariel said.

"Yes but the Zodiacs have been gone way before you even started. Did anyone tell you the effects of dark crystal?" Hermes asked.

They both nodded. "We assumed the crystal drains energy the longer a person is encased in it," Arcturus answered.

Hermes gave a smile. "That is correct. It is important to save everyone quickly because of the Sun Princess but it is also important because they will all grow weak from staying in the crystal for too long. Did you find out the order of disappearance yet?"

"No. We didn't find out whether Mou managed to get a list from her parents since _someone_ took us away from the meeting we were supposed to attend," Ariel muttered, shifting her eyes towards Hermes. Hermes raised his hands up in defence with a slight chuckle.

"Hey I'm just trying to help you. And besides, Kyoumou didn't get the list. Her parents are forbidden from doing so," Hermes told them.

"Forbidden? Why?" Ariel questioned. Hermes only shook his head. Some things just couldn't be shared. It would mess with the destiny of their mission.

"So what are we supposed to do then? Just pick a random Zodiac and hope they're still alive by the time we get there?" Arcturus asked.

"If you want. But I do recommend actually asking Mou what she remembers. Does she remember Zodiacs being taken before her? Or was she one of the first?"

Ariel stopped to think about it. She didn't recall any of them asking Mou if she disappeared before or after the other Zodiacs. She couldn't believe it slipped from her mind. Then she began thinking about Mou's condition when they found her. She was weakened but not unconscious. It didn't take long for Mou to restore her lost energy, especially with Aries giving her a blessing before she left. Ariel began to predict that Mou was possibly one of the last ones captured. She just so happened to have the highest rank among the Zodiacs.

"Maybe they were captured in order of rank. Mou's energy was depleted but not as much as it would have been if she was one of the first captured. So that may give us an indication on whom to look for next," Ariel spoke out her assumptions.

"You're on the right track again Ariel but you must be careful with that one. It's not a bad theory to follow for now though. So then if we do follow your theory, who should you look for next?" Hermes asked.

Arcturus spoke up this time, "Isn't Pisces the 12th Zodiac?" Hermes confirmed his answer. "Alright so we look for Saki next," Arcturus decided. Sakana, called Saki by her friends, was the princess of Pisces and Sailor Pisces of Akaaka's guard. She was petite but very bubbly and Arcturus always admired how she was managed to stay optimistic in any situation. But being small and young as Saki was, Arcturus was scared she was probably already in a very bad condition.

Hermes tapped a button on his desk and a screen emerged down from the ceiling. It displayed Saki's home, Pisces. Most of the kingdom was submerged underwater but some places, like the entrance to the castle, were above the surface. In a kingdom like Pisces, it seemed like the far depths of the kingdom were actually the deepest parts of the seas. Maybe Saki was hidden in one of those deepest parts.

"You children should know about Pisces's Pearl," Hermes prompted.

"It is a pearl protected under the princess of Pisces to ensure the fortune of all life on Pisces and secures hope and faith among the people," Ariel stated proudly. Then her face fell. "Wait, Saki protects the pearl. Does that mean the pearl was stolen too when Saki was captured?"

"I'm afraid so." Hermes tapped another button, this time with a more recent photo of Pisces. It was dark and gloomy and the waters seemed blackened. "I'm sure you've seen the fish bustling around when you were coming here. They are all in a state of panic. The sprites are trying to calm them down but as long as the pearl is poisoned with the dark energy, Pisces will continue to crumble and darken," he told them.

"There must be a way to recover the pearl," Arcturus said.

"Unfortunately there isn't. However, there is a way to get a new one. The pearl is replaced with a new one by an oyster every time the kingdom needs to be replenished with new fortune. The oyster was created by the First Royal Pisces and is hidden from commoner sight and guarded," Hermes began. "But-."

"Let me guess," Ariel interrupted, "the guardian of the oyster won't just hand it over to us."

"Correct! So you must offer the guardian something. That something can be found in the tunnels of the cave you walked through to get here," Hermes gestured towards the doors.

"Lacio told me it is very easy to get lost. My compact computer doesn't work here; how are we supposed to know where to go? And where are we supposed to go anyway?" Ariel ran on with her questions.

Hermes had to raise his hand to stop her. "You do have a map," he said.

"We do?" Arcturus and Ariel said in unison. Hermes nodded.

"You'll figure it out. There are two keys somewhere in the tunnels. These are the keys that will open a treasure chest, which you will find at wherever you are going. And inside the chest is what you will offer to Pisces," Hermes explained. The two slowly nodded their heads even though they still couldn't exactly comprehend what was happening.

"Now pass me the two discs Aqua gave you earlier." Hermes held his hands out. Ariel and Arcturus looked at each other, wondering how he knew Aqua gave the discs to them but handed the discs over to Hermes anyway. He spun them in his hands and Arcturus's disc turned icy blue while Ariel's was pure white. "I think Ariel is more of an ice person while Arcturus is more water," he remarked and gave the discs back to them.

"What did you do to them?" Arcturus wondered, examining the disc again. It looked the same as before, only now his was blue thanks to Hermes. It still didn't make any sense to him.

"Oh I just gave them an upgrade," Hermes waved him off. Hermes then summoned Arcturus's trident in his hands. "I always hated the trident but I didn't get many choices for weapons. It's so Neptune-y. But I suppose I could give this an upgrade too." Hermes ran his hand along the trident and the rod turned from its previous bronze colour to a pearl blue. The trident head turned silver with a sapphire gem encrusted at the bottom of the trident head. "Would you like some snakes on it too like mine?" Hermes offered.

Arcturus took a quick glance at Hermes's cane with the snakes coiled around them. They looked scary real. He wasn't a snake person. "No thanks. I'm good," Arcturus said. Hermes shrugged and handed the trident back to him. Arcturus let it transform back into his transformation rod and placed it in his pocket.

"You'll figure out the modifications I did to the trident, other than its appearance. And now for Ariel..." Hermes then summoned Ariel's compact computer. "Your new tablet broke in your crash right?" Ariel nodded. "Ah and now you're back to this ancient thing. Serenity doesn't have much taste when it comes to technology," Hermes laughed. He waved his hand over the computer and it became bathed in a blue light. It quickly formed into a flat tablet even better than the one that broke in the crash. "And here you go."

"Awesome! Thanks Hermes," Ariel grinned. She was already messing around with the tablet and tapping buttons trying to figure out what it could do.

"No problem!" Hermes smiled back. He glanced at the watch on his wrist and hummed a little. "Children, we are running out of time. As a man in business, I have to stay on schedule," he informed them. He stood up from his place on his desk. "Now when you go to Pisces, make sure to bring that Tsunami girl with you. Although Pisces and Mercury are both water, we haven't exactly been on the best of terms lately. They won't turn you away though as I'm their primary helper right now but they do favour people of Neptune."

"What do you mean you're not on the best of terms with them?" Arcturus asked.

"Well...let's just say we don't exactly have the same type of humour," Hermes smirked. Ariel noticed the glint of mischief in his eyes and in his smirk. Ariel definitely could relate to Hermes and couldn't help but smirk a bit herself.

"But aren't our friends coming with us anyway?" Arcturus pointed out. Hermes gave no answer but instead gave him a smile. Arcturus did not understand why people around there just smiled instead of giving an actual answer.

"I think I went over everything. Let me just check my memo quickly to make sure," Hermes said as he took a phone out of his pocket and a stylus.

As he went over his checklist, Arcturus and Ariel turned towards each other. "Do you know what's going on here?" Arcturus asked quietly.

"Not really," Ariel replied in a whisper. "A lot of the things he said are useful but a lot of them are vague too." '_Especially the map'_ Ariel thought. Hermes told them they already had the map but she never recalled being given any kind of map during this whole experience. She figured it might be in the discs somehow but they needed to figure out how they worked first before anything. Ariel hated all these vague answers. She was a girl who liked exact answers, answers she could figure out easily. Not all these riddles and stuff people have been giving them so far.

"Yup I covered everything!" Hermes announced, placing his phone on the desk. Something made a beeping noise. "And just in time too! Come, I'll walk you to the ports." He motioned for them to follow and they did. They exited the office and walked through the throne room before reaching the centre. Hermes directed them to where a row of tubes stretched out to the ceiling. The two thought they would be going inside the tubes but Hermes ordered them to just stand in front of them.

"I wish you two the best of luck. And remember, the mind is a powerful tool; use it," Hermes said.

"Thanks Hermes. Maybe we could visit here again after all this is over. I would love to explore this centre in more detail," Arcturus told him. Hermes nodded and grinned.

"That would be fun! Good luck!" Hermes knocked his cane against the ground twice before a hole opened up beneath Ariel and Arcturus and they fell, screaming as they did. Hermes peered over the hole, waving brightly. "Be careful! Oh and watch out for frost!" He listened for a reply but all he heard was faint screaming.

"Oh...I guess I should have told them that earlier. Oh well! They'll live," Hermes shrugged. He tapped his cane against the floor again and the hole closed up. He started humming as he strolled back to his office.

* * *

><p><span>AN: Ah you guys are going to hate me :( Basically a year without updating. That's really bad. I didn't even update during summer vacation D: I'm really sorry. But I'm on break now and it's my birthday today! So I thought I should try to really finish this chapter. It gave me so much trouble! Mostly because I lost some of my records and I couldn't remember the Zodiac they would be looking for next. And then I had to re-do the chapter because it didn't save and there were just so many problems. Hopefully the next chapter will be easier and faster to update. I have a feeling I lost my reviewers. I hope people still read this story. Oh and I changed the name! I wasn't really fond of the first one so I changed it! I need a new abbreviation or acronym for it now though :P Anyway please leave a review and PLEASE let me know if you find any grammar and spelling mistakes. I don't know why but no matter how many times I read a chapter, there's always a mistake hidden somewhere.


	13. Challenges of the Mind

Chapter Thirteen: Challenges of the Mind:

Arcturus and Ariel fell out of the hole onto the icy cave floor with a loud thud. They groaned in annoyance while they helped each other stand up. Hermes had completely caught them off guard with that stunt. They thought they would travel through the portal tubes safely but clearly that wasn't the case. First whirlpools and now holes? Hermes really had different means of transportation.

"You know, he kind of reminds me of you," Arcturus said to Ariel. "Smart, but mischievous and playful." Ariel thought about his comment. Maybe she was like Hermes.

She looked around the cave and thought about Hermes's words. Ariel knew she had to use her mind to find the treasure chest but she also had to think a little like Hermes. He was the only one who knew every secret in the caves after all.

Ariel pulled out her disc, knowing that there was more to it than just what they could see now; nothing. Arcturus was prompted to do the same and pulled out his own disc. They tried tapping them, tossing them and even threw them on the ground (more out of frustration) but the discs did nothing. Ariel sighed.

"Try your tablet. Maybe Hermes added some special clue when he upgraded it," Arcturus suggested.

Ariel picked up her tablet from the ground. She was surprised it didn't break from the fall. She figured Hermes added an indestructible feature to it. Hopefully he included some type of clue like Arcturus said. First, she browsed through the different pages. Most were filled with various apps but others were just blank. She checked the notes and inbox but found nothing. She checked the picture album but all she found was the photo she took of the cave. Ariel tapped the photo to bring it to full screen. Something was peculiar about it.

"Arcturus, maybe the engravings mean something," Ariel told him her opinion. She motioned him to look at the photo. He studied it and then looked at the wall before them. The two looked very similar.

"Doesn't the photo match this wall right here?" Arcturus pointed out to Ariel. Ariel took a moment to compare the two. They were exactly the same. She realized this was the spot she visited earlier. It must also be their starting point to find the two keys and treasure chest.

Ariel walked closer to the wall and swept her fingertips over the engravings. She came across two deeply engraved snowflakes; much larger than the smaller snowflakes sprinkled across the designs on the walls. Ariel gazed down at her snowflake disc then back at the two snowflakes. Silently, she brought her disc up in front of one of the snowflakes. It began to sparkle slightly. Ariel grinned then placed the disc directly onto the snowflake engraving. The disc started to glow brightly this time.

"Arcturus, put your disc on the other snowflake!" Ariel ordered eagerly. Arcturus brought his own disc up to the wall and placed it on the second snowflake. The two discs were now glowing and grew brighter by the second. Arcturus and Ariel had to shield their eyes from the blinding light. They could only hear crumbling of ice and shifting noises as the light filled the entire tunnel.

The noises stopped. Arcturus took a peek to see if the blinding light was still there. The light had died down and revealed double doors made of ice. Their snowflake discs were still planted on the ice, one on each door. Arcturus nudged Ariel in the side and told her the coast was clear. She opened her eyes as well.

"Well, I think we found our entrance," Arcturus announced. He and Ariel walked forward and took their discs back. Then they pushed opened their respective doors. The doors revealed a large entrance corridor with two paths branching off; one path was lined with blue snowflakes on the wall and the other was lined with white snowflakes. They glowed periodically.

"The colours match our discs," Arcturus stated.

Ariel rolled her eyes. "Thank you Arcturus for that insightful statement," Ariel remarked sarcastically. "There are two keys. We probably need to split up to find the keys and then meet up again to find the box at the end together," she told him. It did make sense after all; there were two of them, two different paths and two separate keys. Hermes may not have told them whether it would be wise to split up or not but it seemed like the most logical and effective idea.

She suddenly felt a cooling sensation in her palm. She realized her snowflake disc was glazing over with ice. Ariel quickly glanced over at her brother and noticed his disc was doing the same. The ice began to expand and soon began spreading up their arms and throughout their bodies. However, neither did Ariel or her brother fight back; somehow they both understood that the ice was natural and was part of the purpose behind the disc.

At last, the ice encased their entire bodies and bathed them both in a light blue glow. The ice later dissolved and the glow faded, revealing their Senshi and Knight uniforms. A translucent, milky white visor appeared over Ariel's eyes while a blue version covered Arcturus's. The visors were just like their mother's. The two opened their eyes and examined themselves. They both had a snowflake symbol on their chests. Arcturus's trident was now in his right hand, gleaming brightly.

The snowflake discs floated out of their hands and hovered in front of them and projected a translucent screen. A virtual image of Aqua appeared. She was smiling brightly at the two like always.

"Fantastic! You two found the entrance," Aqua began.

"Aqua, what is this? Could you please tell us what's going on?" Arcturus demanded.

"Now calm down my prince. This is just something Hermes organized to ensure only children of Mercury could pass," Aqua replied. She continued, "Your snowflake discs are basically your key cards, as you might call them. They have many features to them but those you will have to figure out later."

"Could you at least tell us how to make them work?" Ariel asked. "We've tried everything."

"Did you try telling them to turn on? The discs are partially voice activated," Aqua revealed. Ariel and Arcturus looked at each other, dumbfounded.

Arcturus stammered, "Uh...we-we thought-."

"That there was some secret or complicated command to get them to work, right?" Aqua finished his sentence. "That's the thing with our lord. He likes to make people think he always thinks in complicated ways or that the answer is always unexpected. But as children of Mercury, you have to remember the expected answer is usually the most unexpected."

Ariel groaned; Hermes really _was_ smart. So far she failed at thinking like Hermes. "Okay, now that we figured the command out, what's with the visors?" she asked.

"They are to help you see features that are basically invisible to the naked eye. You can also view and process information as they serve as a substitute to a monitor of a computer. You must keep them on at all times if you wish to exit safely."

Ariel and Arcturus nodded. The two couldn't predict any instance where they would need to take off the visors. But then again, they've never been down these caves before so they wouldn't know.

"Alright, last question. Where is the map Hermes said we had?" Arcturus asked.

Aqua nearly laughed. "Man, he thought the picture was enough to help you. The engravings _do_ mean something children; the map is all around you! Like I mentioned before, the visors help you see things that are normally invisible," she giggled.

"I knew it!" Ariel grinned.

"Not really," Arcturus muttered.

"Hey! Without me, we wouldn't have even discovered the doors," Ariel pointed out. Arcturus rolled his eyes. Aqua did tell them Hermes organized this whole idea for children of Mercury. It was only a matter of time where one of them would have found out. It was unnecessary for his sister to act like she made such an accomplishment.

Aqua looked away from the two to peer down at something Ariel and Arcturus couldn't see. "I believe I told you everything I was permitted to tell. Ariel, you will go down the white path of course while Arcturus will go down the blue path. I cannot personally help you from this point on but trust me; everything you need, you already have," Aqua stated.

"Well thanks again Aqua," Arcturus said.

Aqua gave the two a short nod and the holographic screen disappeared. The two siblings faced each other with a small smile.

"I'll see you at the end Arcturus," Ariel started. "Don't do anything stupid alright?"

Arcturus chuckled," Same to you sis. Be careful." Ariel smiled and nodded. They went over to their respective sides. They shared one more look before heading down their two paths.

* * *

><p>*/*/ Ariel /*/*/

As soon as Ariel and her brother went down their paths, the small entrance area disappeared and Ariel no longer saw her brother's path. Now it really was just her for now. Before walking down any further, Ariel paused to look at the engravings on the wall. She could see a network of paths that led to multiple rooms. She assumed the key was in one of the many rooms.

"Great. This place is just like a maze. That is so simple Hermes," Ariel muttered. She glanced down at the disc in her hand. '_Voice activated' she thought_. "On?" Ariel tried.

The disc shimmered and glowered. A monotone female voice began to speak. "Voice recognition: a match. Commencing eye scan." A single beam of light projected out of the center of the device. It shone over her right eye and then her left. The light shut off. "Scan complete: a match," the device concluded. "Greetings Princess Ariel."

Ariel smiled to herself. "Not bad Hermes," she said. Now she had to figure out a better way to refer to the map without having to look at the wall all the time. She held up the disc so that it was facing the wall. "Um...copy?" Ariel commanded. Another beam of light shot out and scanned the wall quickly. Moments later, the light vanished and a holographic image of the map appeared just above the disc. "Awesome!" Ariel exclaimed. It would be easier to find her way when she had a smaller version of the map in her hands.

She started following the map, turning and taking corners whenever she felt was necessary to do so. It seemed similar to the one she and the others encountered in the castle of the Dark Knights. At least she knew there were probably no monsters or anything that might cause trouble for her; or at least she thought.

Ariel then took another corner that opened up to a large circular room. The ceiling rose high above her and her steps seemed to echo even on the icy floor. Unlike the other parts of the cave, there was snow gently scattered all over as if someone sprinkled icing sugar from above. Ariel found it a little strange and wasn't sure if she should ignore the snow or if it somehow meant something.

Before she could decide, the snow began gathering in the center of the room. The snow spiralled up in the cold breeze that began to glow. Ariel thought it looked like the snow as trying to materialize into some sort of shape. Almost like a human figure. '_What is going on?' _Ariel thought as strands of her hair whipped her face. The wind started to calm as the remainder of the snow fell into place. A girl who looked slightly older than Ariel now stood in the center of the room. She was petite but extremely pale with platinum blonde hair flowing down her back. The girl wore a long white silk dress that hugged her body and flowed straight to the floor. Her ice blue eyes stared at Ariel as if the girl was looking at her soul. The stare unsettled Ariel.

"Um...hello," Ariel greeted the girl.

"Hello," the girl replied with a soft, wispy voice. "I assume you are Princess Ariel. Hermes has told me a little about you."

"Yes I am. And may I ask what your name is?" Ariel asked.

"Khione," she said simply. "Hermes told me you would help me find the lost treasure."

"Treasure? Do you mean the gift we have to give to the guardian?"

"No no, you and your brother will find that together," Khione shook her head. "You must help me find my treasure."

"Okay...what is the treasure?" Ariel asked, obviously confused.

Khione gave her a small smile. "Hermes said you are a smart child. Prove it; go figure it out," she said. Before Ariel could utter another word, Khione dissipated back into snow. Ariel stomped her foot in protest. What a useless girl!

"Why doesn't anybody give proper hints around here?!" she demanded. The echo of her voice was her only response. She felt utterly confused. Her brain felt like it was thrown into a blender then dumped out and forced to join back together. Being in a realm linked to Hermes was really messing her up. She wondered if her brother was feeling the same way.

"Alright, I just have to think a little," Ariel said. She sat down on the floor to recall Khione's orders. Khione said she had to find her treasure which wasn't the treasure they needed to give to the guardian. That tiny fact didn't really provide any information that could possibly help her.

Ariel examined her surroundings. She saw no exits and the way she had entered through was now gone. How was she supposed to look for anything when there weren't any exits? Standing up, Ariel then walked closer to the walls. The bricks were solid ice and didn't seem like they would budge. Maybe if she had some way to break through the ice...

She looked down at her disc, an idea forming in her mind. Firstly, she used one of the sharp edges of the disc to trace a circle in the ice. Next, she placed the disc in the center of the traced circle where it stuck to the ice. Ariel moved away from the wall and pulled out her tablet. She figured the tablet somehow knew what she was thinking because the screen displayed a command sequence for detonation. Ariel guessed her visor connected her tablet to her brain. Ariel tapped the red button on the screen. The disc flashed twice before setting off an explosion that shattered the ice, revealing an exit. Ariel walked over to the hole, picked up her perfectly fine disc, and hopped though the hole.

The area looked like a wide space in a cavern. There were hills of snow everywhere and the temperature was lower than any other parts of the cave she'd been through. A loud growl emitted from a tunnel far opposite from Ariel. Even with her visor, she couldn't see anything from the dark tunnel. She felt a strong cold breeze at the nape of her neck. Sensing trouble, Ariel ducked just in time for a strong breath of cold, icy air to fly over her head. Ariel was muttering some nasty choice words as she stood up straight.

"Let me guess," Ariel began talking to no one, "Khione's treasure is in that tunnel." Ariel grumbled as she quietly walked over to the entrance of the tunnel. Of course there would be some kind of beast guarding the treasure but that fact didn't make her any less angry.

She knew she couldn't just stroll in and out. But it was too dangerous to poke her head in the entrance and try to see what the beast looked like. Ariel glanced down and saw a small ice rock. She picked up the rock and tossed it in front of the entrance. Sure enough, the icy breath shot out of the tunnel and towards the direction of the rock. At least now she knew the beast responded to movement.

A plan started to form in her head. She summoned miniature cyclones of water and water spheres. Ariel gestured towards the inside of the tunnel, commanding them to distract the beast. The waters zipped past her and into cave. Soon, she heard the loud growls of the beast. She took the opportunity to sneak into the cave, her back hugging the walls. Ariel inched her way towards the roaring sounds as light began to shine and reflect off the ice. She stopped when she saw the beast. It was huge with white hair standing up wildly. The beast's eyes were wild as dangerously sharp teeth peeked out of the mouth. In short, it looked like a giant, maniacal wolf.

The wolf was blowing frosty air at the water cyclones and spheres she created as they travelled around it. One of the water spheres got hit and froze instantly. Ariel took not of that action; the wolf's breath froze anything it came into contact with. She strongly doubted she would not be able to break out of that ice. Ariel needed to find a way to detain the beast for a little while.

Ariel thought up an idea immediately. She had to move fast though; her water balls and cyclones were decreasing in number. She moved away from her place near the wall and walked over to the center of the room where the beastly animal was thrashing around and blasting Ariel's water creations. The wolf didn't even seem to notice Ariel...until she started flailing her arms around.

"Hey, big bad wolf! Why don't you try to catch me?" Ariel teased, attracting the wolf's attention. She pulled out her disc and ordered it to duplicate. The disc glowed then duplicated itself into three smaller copies. The wolf heaved in heavily and breathed out a huge blast of icy air towards her. Ariel quickly summoned a trail of water and ran away from the blast. The frosty air hit the start of her trail of water as they wolf blasted more air along Ariel's path.

Ariel continued to run while the icy air froze her ongoing stream of water. Her plan was going well so far. Now she had to find a way to stick the other discs onto the walls surrounding the wolf. The animal was still trying to catch her as she ran, her water stream turning to ice. She reached one corner and slapped one disc onto the wall before running away towards the next corner. The disc that she had just placed began spraying out a stream of water in an arch over the beast. The wolf howled and blew icy air at the arch while still blowing air at Ariel's water trail.

Ariel reached the second corner and repeated her previous action. The disc began shooting out water as well which prompted the wolf to breath out more frosty air. Ariel repeated the process for the third and fourth corners. The wolf was wildly blasting frost at all the water, freezing everything.

Ariel paused just in front of the wolf. She pulled out her tablet and typed in a command. The four discs radiated soft glows and stopped pouring out water. She stood back with a pleased grin as the wolf thrashed around in the ice cage she just created. Ariel waited for the animal to calm down before speaking. "Okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I just need something that I was sent here to get," Ariel told him calmly. "Wait; are you a he or a she? You seem like a "he" to me," Ariel added. The wolf slightly nodded which gave Ariel the impression he agreed. But before she could continue, the wolf started glowing and began shrinking. The wolf didn't stop until he was no longer than a regular wolf pup.

Ariel was even more confused when it began to snow. The snow collected into the form of a person, Khione.

"So you've succeeded," Khione mused as she walked over to the wolf pup and picked him up into her arms.

Ariel still didn't understand," Succeeded at what?"

Khione laughed," You found my treasure of course!"

"The wolf is your treasure?"

Now Khione was the one who didn't understand. "Oh wait! I don't mean the wolf. I'm talking about what he's wearing." Ariel just stood there as Khione removed a necklace from around the wolf's neck. She didn't even notice it before. She was probably too busy running away from frost that could freeze one instantly. The necklace had a silver chain with a diamond and a snowflake charm hanging off the diamond. Khione snapped her fingers and the necklace clasped around her neck.

"So I faced this former beast just so that you could have a piece of _jewellery_ back?" Ariel did not like being used.

Khione shrugged. "You didn't have to fight him; you used your brains instead of force. Not just anyone could do that," Khione said. "Besides, you get something out of this too." She reached into the open air and pulled out a silver key. Khione walked over to Ariel and pressed the key into her palm. "I wish you good luck child of Mercury," Khione smiled. She passed the wolf over to Ariel. "And take special care of this little guy. He will be more useful than you think," she advised.

Ariel was thrown off guard by Khione's statement. "Wait! I have to take him? Isn't he yours?"

Khione shook her head. "Negative. He's all yours! Well, at least for now," she said. She gestured towards one wall and the ice cracked open, revealing a strong, white light. "If you go that way, you will meet your brother and find the treasure you are looking for," she told her.

"Alright, but that still doesn't explain what I'm supposed to do with-."

"Farewell Princess Ariel! Greet Prince Mabui for me!" Khione burst into snow, leaving Ariel fuming. She took back what she said about Hermes being cool. The wolf's bark caught Ariel's attention. She looked down at the wolf who stared back at her.

Ariel heaved a deep sigh. "Well, we might as well head into the light," she said. She first collected her snowflake disc from the wall, the smaller copies disappearing into thin air. Once that task was completed, she headed into the tunnel pouring out light with the wolf.

* * *

><p>*/*/ Arcturus /*/*/

Arcturus was playing around with his trident ever since he parted with Ariel and explored his path a little. Arcturus managed to figure out the map engravings and figured out how to install the data onto his trident so that it could serve as some sort of GPS. He was pointing his trident away from him as he followed the floating green grid map above the head of the trident.

He also made a theory about the snowflake disc; it seemed like a multi-purpose gadget that he could use for his convenience. Although he had yet to use it, he was sure he would find a use for it eventually.

His trident directed him to turn a corner, leading to a dead end. On the far end, a metal slate was fashioned onto the wall along with various pieces of ice. Some contained some kind of silver markings while others were clear ice. Arcturus walked closer to examine the wall. It almost resembled one of those shuffle puzzle boards that always annoyed him even though he always figured out the solution. Maybe the silver markings were parts of a picture. The question was: what was the picture?

"Time to put my visor to use," Arcturus said to himself. He tapped his right temple and the visor quickly scanned over the wall. The pieces of the puzzle appeared on the visor and Arcturus began experimenting by rearranging the pieces to make a logical picture. After many trials and errors, he finally constructed a picture he could refer to as a guide. The tools Hermes gave them were more useful than he thought.

He set to work immediately. He kept referring back to the picture guide as he shuffled the pieces around, making his life much easier. Arcturus smiled in satisfaction as he slid the last few ice pieces into place. He stepped back to view the finished product; there was now a silver keyhole on a background of ice on the metal slate. The keyhole glowed a faint yellow before the slate slid upwards, revealing an entry. Arcturus held his trident out before him as he walked into the entryway.

The entryway opened into a large room of ice hollowed out slightly in the center. Ice spikes loomed down from the ceiling and gave the room a cold and harsh atmosphere. Arcturus hopped down into the hollowed part and looked around in confusion. The room was basically empty and the door to exit the room was not too far in front of him. It seemed really suspicious that the door was just waiting for him. He had to be careful.

Arcturus pointed his trident towards the door and sent out a stream of water. The stream was hit by beams that froze the water instantly. There was probably some kind of security system except that it had frost beams, not laser beams. He could faintly recall something Hermes said about frost when they left but he was too busy screaming for his life to listen properly. His visor couldn't seem to sense the frost for some reason but he was pretty sure there was frost present in the whole room. How was he supposed to pass now?

Arcturus looked down at the ground in frustration. Tiny cracks in the floor caught his attention. If there was water underneath the ground, he could just swim underneath and reach the door. He banged his trident on the floor several times until the cracks spread and crumbled ice fell into the water. Arcturus wasn't too concerned about the temperature as he jumped right in. Sure enough, he was able to swim right up to just in front of the door. Arcturus pointed his trident at the surface above him and a blast show out, shattering the ice. He climbed out of the water easily and was also dry due to the thin layer of oxygen that protected his clothes. He pushed open the door and walked through.

He was directed into another corridor with glowing snowflakes along the walls. Again, there was a door but this door had a keypad on one side and a small iron pedestal with a glass jar on it. Inside the jar was a bunch of ice in the shapes of typical diamonds. There was also a golden piece of paper folded just in front of the jar.

Arcturus walked over and picked up the piece of paper. He unfolded it and began to read the note out loud, "To enter, you must correctly guess the number of ice diamonds in this jar. You may not reach inside the jar. Your technology can't help you." Arcturus placed the note back on the pedestal. He basically had to calculate the number of ice diamonds without help.

Arcturus examined the jar. It seemed like an endless amount of diamonds fit in the jar. He thought up a solution but he wasn't sure his solution would abide by the rules. He realized a little loophole in the restrictions. He couldn't reach _inside_ the jar but nothing was said about touching it. Arcturus grabbed the jar and tilted it upside down. All the ice fell out. He placed the jar back on the pedestal then tapped zero on the keypad. It flashed green and the door opened.

"I love loopholes," Arcturus smiled before walking through.

Now he was in a slightly dark room with a deep circular pit in the middle of the room. An iron railing ran around the circular pit. There was a boy a little older than him leaning over the railing. He seemed to be staring deeply at something.

Arcturus was curious. He called out to the boy, "Hey! What are you doing?"

The boy turned around. His hair was platinum blonde and frost covered the ends of his hair. He had icy blue eyes that stared at Arcturus intently. "Ah you've arrived. You must retrieve my father's treasure from the pit," the boy said.

"Uh...who's your father?" Arcturus asked.

The boy rolled his eyes slightly. "Just jump in and get it. We haven't got all day," he answered. Arcturus gave the boy a look of his own before shrugging and walking over to the railing. He looked down at the pit; it was awfully deep. "Go on already!" the boy pushed Arcturus and he fell over the railing. He yelled and shouted curses at the boy before landing on the icy floor of the pit.

"Sure, thanks for all the help!" Arcturus shouted angrily. He stood up and brushed his pants off a bit. A silver box was displayed on a rock slate not too far ahead; was that the treasure they need to give to the guardian? It probably wasn't since Hermes did say the treasure box they were looking for had two keys to unlock it. Maybe the box had the key. Arcturus hesitated, the scene looking familiar to him. It was just like the room he had encountered with the single door. There were probably frost beams here too.

Arcturus knew he couldn't just walk through and the ice was too thick and probably did not have water running underneath. He needed a way to bring the box to him. Arcturus searched himself for tools. All he had was his trident, visor and snowflake disc. Arcturus pulled out his snowflake disc as a solution formed in his mind. He tugged at the edges of the snowflakes and bent them to make sure they were flexible. Then he began shaping the snowflake disc into a figure. Soon, he had formed a spider like figure in a way one might fold paper for origami.

He planted the spider on the wall and commanded it to go to the box. The spider responded and crawled over to the rock slate on the walls. When it was close enough to the box, it shot out a beam of light that encased the box in a green glow and floated it off the slate. The spider crawled back to Arcturus and shut off the green light, dropping the box right in front of him. Arcturus grinned and picked up the box then turned the spider back into a snowflake. "Now it's time to get out of this pit," he said to himself. However, there weren't any visible ways to exit the pit.

Arcturus groaned. Just as matters couldn't get any worse, the pit started to shake and rumble. He could hear ice shifting as the walls began to close in. Now he had a time limit. He looked around at his surroundings. There was nothing that could be of use for him. He guessed he had to rely on his own abilities to get out of this one. He took his trident and swung it a spiral motion. A spiral of water emerged from his feet and surrounded Arcturus. He commanded the water to bring him up and the spiral of water shot him out of the pit before the ice walls closed in.

He let out a breath then remembered about the box. The boy walked over to him and picked it up with a slightly amused smile. "Good, you got it. Let us go see my father now," the boy told Arcturus then began walking towards an exit. Arcturus stared at his retreating figure blankly then sighed and got up to follow him.

They entered a throne room similar to the one he and her sister met Hermes in except this one had purple banners and sashes hanging off the walls. A man in a snow white suit leaned on an ice throne waiting for them. He looked just like the boy in front of him except the man had a trimmed beard and looked thirty years older or so. "Hello Prince Arcturus. I've been expecting you," the man started. "I'm a friend of Hermes, Boreas."

"Hello," Arcturus replied simply. He was pretty much used to all the surprises now.

The boy walked over and handed his father the box. Boreas thanked him then tucked the box under his arm. "Now Arcturus, you are looking for a key correct?" Arcturus nodded his head. "Well, that key is somewhere in this room. But which one is it?" Boreas waved his hand in the air and five pillars rose up from the ice. Each had a key on it but differed in colour, shape and size. "I can only give you one chance to find the right key. Your visor will be helpless in this situation by the way," Boreas added.

Arcturus let the information sink in before examining each of his options. To be frank, none of them felt right to him. But Boreas said the right key was in the room. He scanned the room but found no places where a key might be hidden. Maybe the right key _was_ one of the five options and he was just over thinking the situation. But then Arcturus looked at Boreas who was smiling softly. His eyes ran over his appearance until they rested at his neck. There was a chain on it but he couldn't see the charm part of the necklace because it was tucked underneath the suit. But somehow Arcturus already knew.

"I choose the key that is around your neck," Arcturus announced. Boreas's smile broke out into a full grin as he pulled the rest of the chain from underneath his shirt. Sure enough, there was a silver key hanging off the chain.

"Congratulations Arcturus! You _are_ bright," Boreas said as he handed the key over to him. "And now you are free to go! Just head out of the doors over there and you will meet your sister and the treasure you are really looking for," he told him. Arcturus nodded and thanked him for the information. He was just about to leave when Boreas stopped him. "Oh and take this!" he handed the silver box from earlier back to Arcturus. "You will find great use for it soon."

"Wait, what am I supposed to do-."

"Goodbye and good luck with the rest of your journey!" Boreas interrupted. He snapped his fingers and both him and his son were gone. Arcturus was left with no other choice but to head out the doors Boreas directed him to earlier. It was time to meet up with his sister.

* * *

><p>The two siblings entered a wide open space with nothing much but ice spikes poking out of the floor and ceiling from opposite sides. Both of them grinned victoriously as they waved their keys at each other. A large silver treasure chest with sapphire accents was waiting for them in the middle of the area.<p>

"Was your adventure," Ariel began.

"As weird as mine?" Arcturus finished. The two shared a look of silent understanding before walking over to the chest. They placed their two keys in their respective key holes and twisted them. The chest clicked and popped open slightly. Ariel and Arcturus both glanced at each other before propping up the lid of the chest. Their eyes nearly dropped at what was inside.

Inside the chest was a crystal bottle with a liquid that had a blue tint to it. It looked awfully similar to water. Arcturus reached into the chest and picked up the small bottle and raised his eyebrows. Ariel gave him a blank look that he returned. Was this bottle of water really the treasure they worked so hard to find?

"Seriously Hermes?!" Ariel nearly shouted. She stomped her foot in frustration and a hole opened up beneath their feet, making them fall in.

The next thing they knew, they were flapping around in water. Their friends were looking at them in confusion. Arcturus and Ariel both stopped flapping to realize they were currently sitting in a fountain. It wasn't just any old fountain though. It was the Grand Fountain in front of the castle, on Mercury.

"Um...do you guys mind telling us exactly what is going on?" Rini asked, confused.

Arcturus waved her off as he got out of the fountain. His clothes were soaking wet, thanks to Hermes. Leave it to the deity of water to make the clothes of a water being wet. "We'll explain later. Right now, we need to travel to Pisces."

"Why?"

Ariel also exited the fountain while squeezing water out of her ponytail. "To give the guardian of the pearl a drink of water."

* * *

><p><span>AN: This chapter took a while but I got it done! I abandoned my school work as a result but I still got it done! Now I have to stay up to finish my projects...I apologize if Arcturus's part of the story seems a little rushed or random. My original idea just fell through and instead of submitting to writer's block, I decided to write whatever came to my head and Arcturus's story was the result. Please review; they make me happy!


	14. Pisces: The Two Fish

Chapter Fourteen: Pisces: The Two Fish:

The group walked into Mariner Castle after Takemara explained they still had to wait for another thirty minutes or so before creating another portal. They decided to talk in Ariel's living room in her bedroom chambers. Everyone took their seats. Rini sat beside Arcturus, looking at him expectantly. "Okay, tell us everything," she said. Ariel and Arcturus took turns telling their stories, jumping in for each other if something was left out by the other. The rest listened intently.

"After we finally met up again, we used our keys to open the chest," Ariel said.

"And inside was this stupid bottle of water that we need to give to the guardian of the pearl on Pisces," Arcturus grumbled, jerking his head towards the crystal bottle that stood on the titanium table in front of them.

Rini nodded appreciatively at the information. "So you have that wolf because of your adventure?"

Ariel looked down at the sleeping wolf cub in her lap. Somehow, his pure white fur managed to stay dry when they landed in the fountain. "Yeah but I wasn't told anything about his purpose," she told him. The wolf seemed so little and gentle now; what use would they have for him?

"Oh! I almost forgot to ask. How did you guys know we were here?" Arcturus asked.

"Some water sprite came to us and told us to go to Mercury so we did," Kaji answered. Ariel and Arcturus looked at each other, sharing the same thought; _'Aqua.'_

"That's the reason why Takemara can't make a portal for a little while," Tammy added in.

Arcturus nodded his head. He hoped they had enough time to save Saki. They had no clue of the state she was in but they did know they had to find her as soon as possible.

A nudge in Arcturus's side brought him out of his thoughts. Maxine was pointing to the silver box in Arcturus's hands. He nearly forgot about the box until now. "Come again?" Arcturus asked.

Maxine rolled her eyes in a frustrated manner. "I asked, what's in the box?"

"Oh. I actually never checked," Arcturus answered. A couple of blank stares met his response. "What? It's not my fault that I didn't have any time to look inside. I was too busy trying to avoid frost beams and being pushed into pits by some kid," he added in defensively.

Rini leaned towards Arcturus and the box. "Well, we might as well discover the contents now while we wait," Rini said as she lifted the lid. Everything peered in to take a look. Inside the deep royal blue velvet lining of the box rested an oval made of ice. There was a blue swirl of colour seen in the ice like a design.

"What is it?" Uratoh asked curiously, trying to get a closer look.

"It's an egg," Ariel responded.

"What kind?"

"A phoenix egg. But not just any phoenix egg-."

"An ice phoenix egg," Kaji finished for Ariel. "I never actually saw one in person before but this is certainly one of them."

Arcturus looked down at the egg. To him, the egg looked close to hatching. There were tiny cracks but more than enough in number. Unless the egg somehow got cracked during his adventure. Arcturus doubted that possibility. "So what are we supposed to do with it?"

Kaji gave him a shrug. "Once in a while, the First King Phoenix bestows an egg to a royal of his choice and the egg will hatch and release a phoenix to serve that royal. Since it's an ice phoenix egg, it must have been created for a royal of Ankaa," he told them. Ankaa was a star in the constellation Phoenix. Their powers revolve around snow and ice. Mabui is the prince of the star and also Kaji's sworn protector and best friend.

Ariel took a minute to think about the situation. Khione told her to say hi to Mabui for her, meaning they would be seeing him soon. Along with the information Kaji just told them, Ariel was able to formulate an answer. "The egg must be meant for Mabui then. We'll have to give it to him sometime during this trip," Ariel said to her friends.

Tsunami nodded. "Maybe before we go and find Athen, we should pick Mabui up at Ankaa or something and bring him along too," she suggested. "Poor thing; he must be worried sick about her." Athen was the Virgo Princess and Sailor Virgo of Akaaka's guard. Not to mention she was also dating Prince Mabui.

"What do you think, Kaji? Mabui wouldn't mind, right?" Arcturus asked.

Kaji shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Uh...yeah sure. He's probably searching like everyone else anyway," Kaji shrugged. Rini couldn't help but take note on his behaviour. She couldn't figure out why he was acting awkwardly. Everyone except Mou seemed to be staring at him which made him even more uncomfortable. Now that she looked at it, Mou seemed a little uncomfortable as well.

Rini decided to save the atmosphere from further awkwardness. "Okay. Now that we got that out of the way, we need to figure out what we are going to do once we actually arrive at Pisces," Rini began, changing the subject. Kaji gave her a grateful look that Rini responded to with a slight nod. "Are we going to find Saki first or go find the guardian?" she asked.

"I say we find Saki first. Who knows what condition she's in," Kimiko spoke up. She seemed to still be sick of Martian Fever since Aeneas kept giving her water to drink and she was barely able to keep her eyes open.

Arcturus agreed, "Yeah that's what I was thinking too."

However, Ariel did remember Hermes saying that they had to make sure to bring Tsunami along with them even though she would already be with them if all their friends were going too. Plus, if they were going to go to the guardian after they saved Saki, why would they need the bottle of water if they had Saki there with them? Since Saki is the Crown Princess and the protector of the pearl, wouldn't the guardian oblige and give Saki a new pearl? Many more questions began to swim around in Ariel's head making her groan unconsciously.

Kenzo gave Ariel a questioning look. "What is it now?" he asked.

Ariel rubbed her temples, annoyed. "Hermes made a mess of my brain," she grumbled. Ever since she visited that king, she has been over-analyzing every tiny detail as if her life depended on it. For now, Ariel decided to just go along with everyone else on this matter and would only share her concerns if she needed to. But right now, they had something else to do.

She stood up from her seat with her wolf cub in her arms. "We still don't know what that bottle of water is. Also, we need to find some clues as to where Saki might be. I was able to figure out where Mou roughly was from information. We can do the same again," she told the group.

Arcturus understood what Ariel meant immediately and stood up as well. "Right! We can head over to the palace's library and research anything about Pisces there. Also, there is a substance scanner there which we could use to find out whether the bottle of water is special or not," Arcturus continued.

Ariel gave him a sour look. "Obviously the bottle is special. Hermes wouldn't have made us search for it if it is just regular water." '_Or would he?'_ Ariel thought to herself.

Arcturus shrugged; he was just trying to stay open to all the possibilities. Everyone else got up from their seats and followed Ariel and Arcturus out of the room and into the corridor. The group passed by walls painted various shades of blue with painted white frost as borders, making the castle have a slight ice palace atmosphere.

Soon they reached the giant silver doors of the library. Above them in black script was a sign that read: _Athena Library_. Out of all the royal libraries in the solar system, the Athena Library was the largest in both size and collection. But Mercury had a grand library in the planet's capital open for public also known for its large collection. Arcturus and Ariel figured since they were already in the palace, it made more sense to go to the royal library.

Ariel pushed open a door with her right hand. She was expecting to be greeted by a mass amount of people, as the library was always a busy place, but she was greeted by nobody. Ariel raised a confused eyebrow as she walked in to let her friends enter as well. They made a quick scan of the room. The walls of the library were painted different shades of blue just like the rest of the castle with deep chestnut bookshelves lining them. Off in the east side of the room, a chestnut wooden staircase led up to the second floor which had another staircase leading up to another floor. Polished bookshelves were arranged starting in the west section on the ground floor while a whole computer lab sat in the south section. The ceiling was solely glass and currently revealed puffy white clouds in the sky. Being surrounded by all the blue colors made the group feel like they were in the ocean. Even the air held an ocean breeze, adding onto the visual scenery. Yet in all its grandness, the group of princes and princesses were the only people in the room.

"I know it's been a while since I've last been here but has it always been this empty?" Mou asked after she glanced around. Ariel shook her head in response; not even the librarian at the front desk was there. She headed over to the front desk and went around the desk to sit in the comfy teal chair. Sitting in the chair made Ariel reminisce back to all the times where she would come to the library as a kid and discuss books with the librarian. It felt very odd that the librarian wasn't there.

She tapped a blue button found on the side of the desk. A silver monitor emerged from a slit on the head of the desk and powered on with a white glow. A touch screen keyboard lighted up on the surface of the table. Ariel went straight to work typing away as the rest of the group gathered around the front desk. "Alright guys, let's get started," Ariel began. "Takemara, how much time do we have until you're ready for another portal?" she asked.

Takemara looked down at his watch. "About fifteen minutes."

Ariel gave him a nod. "Okay, that's enough time to gather up sufficient information. Firstly, I need a group of you guys, about half or so, to start hitting the books. There are a lot of books about Pisces in here so we need more people to cover those."

"There is no way I'm reading through a bunch of boring books," Kenzo said.

Ariel scowled at Kenzo. "Don't worry, Kenzo. I'm pretty sure with your brain capacity, you wouldn't even be able to turn the pages," she remarked. Hiroshi let out a loud laugh (that sounded strange in a quiet setting such as the library) while Aeneas snickered under his breath. Kenzo shot a dirty look straight at Ariel which she proudly responded to with a wide grin. Ariel continued, "You can find books on Pisces in Section V on the ground level and in Section VI on the second floor. Try looking for legends about their First Royal or any related special places."

"Yes captain," Kaji saluted Ariel, causing her to giggle slightly. "Come on, Tammy." Tammy nodded and followed Kaji over to the bookshelves on the ground floor. Takemara narrowed his eyes at the sight and quickly caught up to them, putting an arm around Tammy's shoulders protectively when he did. Aeneas and Kimiko went to join them as well.

"I'll handle the second floor," Yume volunteered. She started walking off in the direction of the staircase.

Kenzo suddenly seemed to perk up. "You know what? I think I'll go and help her," he said before running after Yume. Ariel raised an eyebrow but decided not to question it.

Maxine was about to join them when Ariel stopped her. "Maxine, I need a favour. Could you watch him for me please?" Ariel asked, referring to the wolf cub still in her lap. "I don't want to leave him somewhere just in case he decides to wake up and I know how you love animals and all." Maxine nodded energetically and took the wolf from Ariel before going over to sit in one of the sitting areas in the library.

Arcturus turned to Uratoh, Tsunami, Hiroshi and Mou. "You four can head over to the computer lab and search online. Also, search any latest news reports about Pisces," he instructed them. He remembered the picture Hermes showed them back in his office and knew that Pisces probably looked way worse now than it did before.

"And that just leaves the three of us to find out what the bottle of water is," Rini said after the other four left for the computer lab. Arcturus nodded and led the two girls into a back room behind the front desk that held advance pieces of equipment and tools used for analysis.

Meanwhile, Yume and Kenzo reached Section VI of the bookshelves on the second floor. Yume couldn't help but marvel at the scenery. While the ground floor was a little more packed, the second floor seemed more spacious and opened around in a semi-circle shape. However, there were still many books to browse through. Yume faced Kenzo. "I know Ariel will kill us if we take the books out from their original places and look at them at a study table so let's just take a book, skim over the table of contents to see if it has anything we're looking for and if not, put it back immediately. If it does have something we're looking for, we take it back with us," she said to him.

"Whatever you say," Kenzo replied. "I'll take this end, you take the far end."

Yume nodded then walked down to the far end of the shelves to start her search. She was about ten books down in her search when she suddenly stopped. There was a thick, plum coloured book that seemed many ages old to Yume. It didn't look like any of the other books she searched through earlier but it did look intriguing. She pulled out the book by its spine and examined the cover. It had no title but the cover did have a border of black lace. Yume flipped the book open to a random page and began to read softly to herself. "_During the formation of the Moon Kingdom and its eternal ally the Sun Kingdom, Saturn was the last to join the Moon Kingdom. While it has been previously recorded that the delay was due to the planet's lack of order, the real case outlines that the other First Royals felt wary of Hades, the First King of Saturn. He was not like the others in the sense of powers. Although he is associated with rebirth, he is more commonly credited with powers of destruction and darkness. The sense of abandonment Hades felt-."_

"What are you doing?" Kenzo called out to her. Yume quickly shut the book and hid it behind her back as Kenzo came closer towards her.

"Nothing," she replied quickly. Inside, Yume felt like hitting herself for being unable to make up an excuse.

Kenzo finally reached Yume and stared at her straight in the eye. It took all of Yume's willpower not to break eye contact. "You're lying," Kenzo smirked. "Now tell me what you're hiding behind your back."

"I'm not hiding anything." Yume internally grimaced from her second bad lie.

Kenzo seemed amused. He leaned closer to Yume as he maintained his stare. Yume stretched the book as far from her as possible, desperately wishing for the book to disappear for a second. '_Please go away, please'_ she pleaded. Kenzo reached around her and grabbed the book. Yume groaned in frustration. When he had a hold of the book, Kenzo moved away from her and studied the book. "So you're trying to hide _this_ from me?" he asked.

"Look, I just thought I could-." Yume stopped in mid-sentence when she got a look of the book. It was not the plum coloured book she was just reading but a baby blue book with a picture of a fish on it. Dark blue letters presented the title of the book: _Classifications of Fish Tails_. How did that book get in her hands? And more importantly, where was the other book?

Kenzo chuckled slightly, "It's alright, Yume. You have your hobbies and I have mine." Yume was about to object but decided not to; it was better to have him believe that was really the book she was hiding. So instead, Yume gave him a shrug which made Kenzo laugh again. His laugh caused Yume to laugh too.

They were interrupted by a sudden announcement. "Guys, we have to head out! Regroup!" Ariel's voice was heard throughout the library from the speakers implanted in the corners. It seemed like Ariel was having some fun with the captain title Kaji had given her.

"Well, the brat's calling us back. We should go." Yume agreed and followed Kenzo back to the staircase that led to the ground floor.

From a distance, Sailor Nyx stayed hidden in the shadows. She witnessed the whole situation. She smirked to herself then dissolved into the shadows that cloaked her from sight.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to Pisces, Neo-Princess Serenity and her royal party. I apologize on behalf of the King and Queen for the disorderly appearance," a Pisces advisor greeted the group after they had been admitted into the castle. The group had already seen pictures of Pisces' current state from the photos they printed off from the internet but seeing it in person was a whole new matter. The seas surrounding the kingdom were nearly pitch black and buildings above the surface contained cracks and crumbling pieces. The castle itself was still intact but the group could see that the turquoise stones that made up the castle's exterior were wearing down. It was only a matter of time before everything above the surface would crumble down into the waters.<p>

"There is no need to apologize. But may I ask where the king and queen are?" Rini asked.

"They are currently busy with repairing tasks. They are unable to meet you as of this moment," the advisor replied. Rini nodded at his answer but she did notice that he didn't mention any efforts dealing with Saki's safe return.

"Well, you can be sure that my team and I will work our hardest to find Saki and return the kingdom back to its previous state," Rini assured the advisor. The advisor thanked her before leading the group to the place they had requested when they arrived on Pisces. Soon, they reached the docks just beyond the castle. Normally the docks were prominent with life and boats but they were currently empty at the moment. The waves of the sea slapped against the shore furiously with the sky particularly dark over this certain area.

Rini walked onto the boardwalk that led off into the sea. She could see the cause of all the raging waters much more clearly from there. An extremely large whirlpool rested in the middle of the sea, churning rapidly. During the research, the group discovered that the whirlpool appeared shortly after Saki disappeared. They quickly assumed that the whirlpool was their first step into finding her. They also discovered there was a sacred grotto deep in a community of coral reefs not too far from their current position where the guardian of the pearl might be. They had to travel through this particular sea.

A servant appeared and approached the group and advisor. "These are the bubble pills you requested," the servant said with a tray of small capsules in his hand. Bubble Pills were invented by scientists on Mercury to help non-water beings access places underwater on water planets. They were specifically made for royals on their royal visits to water planets and made them able to breathe underwater and other abilities water beings had as long as the pill lasted.

The advisor accepted the tray then dismissed the servant. He then faced Rini. "This might serve as an inconvenience, your highness, but due to the disorder the kingdom is facing, we are unable to find pills that last more than an hour. This journey you are planning might take longer than that," he informed her.

'_Not if we split up'_ Ariel thought. '_Maybe that's what Hermes meant by making sure to bring Tsunami with us.'_ "We have to split up then," Ariel spoke up. "Arcturus, Tsunami and I will go to the guardian while everyone else goes with Rini to find Saki. I'm pretty sure there will be monsters guarding Saki as well so Rini needs more help than we do."

"We just have to make sure we find her within an hour," Rini nodded her head. "Splitting up might work."

Tammy faced Kaji. "The whirlpool will bring us pretty deep in the sea. Will you be okay with the temperature?" Even though the pills somewhat protected them from the cold temperatures of deep water, it might still prove to be uncomfortable for fire beings like Kaji, Mou, Kimiko and Kenzo.

"I'll manage. Don't worry," he told her.

"Yeah, we'll manage," Kimiko agreed.

Rini gave her a look. "There is no way you're coming with us, Kimiko. Pill or not," Rini decided.

"What? I'm part of the team. I want to go too!" Kimiko protested.

"But you're sick. You wouldn't be much use in a fight," Aeneas reasoned. He immediately regretted what he said after seeing the hurt in Kimiko's eyes. "You know that's not what I meant," he added in.

Kimiko huffed then turned away from the group and stormed back in the direction they came from. Aeneas was about to go after her when Rini stopped him.

"Let her go. It's better if she's mad at us and doesn't come than us letting her get sick further," she said.

"Someone should stay behind with her anyway; it'll make her feel better," Maxine suggested.

"How about Kaji?" Takemara immediately insisted. Tammy gave him a look.

"It's cool, I'll stay with her," Aeneas waved him off. Before he turned to leave, Maxine gave Aeneas the wolf cub to take care of and he ran off to the castle.

After he left, everyone (excluding Arcturus, Ariel and Tsunami) took a pill from the tray and swallowed them down. The pills will take effect as soon as they were submerged underwater.

"Time to transform," Rini said, removing her transformation brooch from her chest. "Supreme Moon Power! Make-Up!" she cried out and transformed. The others followed suit with their own transformations.

Sir Mercury gave Neo Moon a kiss on the cheek. "Stay safe, alright? Make sure you keep track of the time," he told her. Neo Moon nodded and smiled. Sir Mercury winked at her before he, Neo Mercury and Neo Neptune dived into the water.

Neo Moon watched the three until she couldn't see them anymore. She faced the others. "Let's go," she commanded. They all jumped into the water and began swimming towards the whirlpool. It didn't take much effort since the whirlpool was already so powerful. Soon, they were all swirling quickly down into the water.

/*/*/*/

The water turned cooler and cooler as Rini and the others were dragged down by the whirlpool. Finally, the water began to calm and the group was released from the wild waters. They took a moment to look around but they couldn't really see much. It was mostly due to the fact that the water was still pretty murky and partly because there wasn't much to see to begin with.

Neo Venus began forming something in her hands. When she was done, she revealed an orb of light roughly the size of a beach ball. The light allowed the group to see everything much clearer. "It's not much but it's better than nothing," Tammy said.

"That's fine. Now which way should we go?" Rini asked. Everyone looked at each other blankly then at their scenery. Everything appeared to be the same.

"I wish Ariel was here. She could have figured it out," Neo Jupiter mumbled.

Neo Saturn sighed slightly. Time was going by quickly and they didn't even know where to go. _"This would be a good time to use some dark magic,"_ the voice in her head proposed. Even though Yume knew she shouldn't be using the magic frequently, she did know that they were only going to waste more time if someone didn't do something soon. Yume closed her eyes and focused on channelling her magic to determine which direction they should go. After a few seconds she opened them and pointed in a direction. "That way; I can sense it," Yume announced to the group.

"How did you figure that out?" Sailor Aries asked. She still wasn't aware that Yume could harness dark magic now.

"Um...I just concentrated on my senses," Yume replied as casually as possible. Before Mou could question her further, she already started swimming in the direction she pointed out earlier. Rini followed Yume with the others trailing right behind.

Sir Mars swam right up to Yume. "I hope you know what you're doing," he muttered.

"Have a little more faith in me," Yume joked, causing Kenzo to smile slightly at her. However, Yume was feeling slightly unsure inside. She did sense a dark presence in this direction and was hoping it was the dark crystal that Saki was trapped in but she couldn't be sure. But she wasn't going to admit it out loud to everyone. Yume shook her hands to get rid of the uneasy feeling brewing in her stomach. She had to put a little more faith in herself.

The group continued to swim forward. As they swam, they passed by long strands of blackened seaweed and darkened coral. The sea was literally poisoned with darkness. Sir Saturn was glancing around when glitters and sparkles on the seabed caught his eye. He drifted down to the seabed to get a closer look. Embedded into the sea floor were tiny pearls and vibrant blue stones. "Hey guys. Come look at these pearls and stones," Uratoh called out to the others.

Rini and Orion Knight were among the first to reach Uratoh. Kaji picked up one of the pearls. "These don't really look like pearls..." he trailed off.

"And I've seen these blue stones somewhere before," Rini added in after examining the blue stones. She just couldn't remember where.

When Yume reached the group, she nearly gasped. "Those aren't pearls! They're opals!" Yume revealed. Kaji dropped the pearl immediately. "And the blue stones are lapis lazuli!"

Now Rini remembered, "The jewels the Dark Senshi stole." The group instantly moved away from the jewels. "We should move," she said. Nobody protested against that order and everyone started swimming again but higher up from the seabed. Yume couldn't help but glance down anxiously, the uneasy feeling from earlier forming again in her stomach. She could still see some sparkles down on the floor but not as much as before.

Tammy heard sounds of rapidly moving water as they swam. She looked in the direction the sounds came from but saw nothing. She wanted to dismiss as nothing but as a Senshi, her instincts were everything. Tammy stopped swimming and paused for a second. The sounds were getting louder. Everyone heard the sounds as well and stopped swimming.

"Yume, don't the Dark Senshi use their stones to summon creatures?" Rini asked slowly.

"Yes...but they didn't seem to be working..." Yume trailed off in thought. '_Unless they already used them'_ she thought.

Her suspicion was proven correct when they heard a loud roar followed by a visual of swarm of sea monsters. The swarm wasn't close to the group yet but they could roughly see the features of the monsters. All of the creatures looked like disgusting, mutant fish with giant fish eyes and long, scaly tails and fins. They saw mutant sharks, swordfish, stingrays and a whole bunch of other fish species they couldn't even name. There were even humanoid fish figures with weapons like spears and tridents in the blue skinned hands. And the swarm was fast approaching.

"Swim away!" Rini ordered hurriedly. Everyone tried to swim away but they couldn't move. The long vines of seaweed had entangled them and made them unable to move.

"It's like the seaweed is alive!" Sir Pluto scowled as he struggled to untangle himself.

Kaji squirmed around in the seaweed, trying to reach his sword. He grinned when his fingers wrapped around the hilt. He commanded it to turn into two blades and began rubbing them against the seaweed. Sir Uranus saw Kaji and attempted to reach his own sword to do the same. Kenzo tried burning through his seaweed but could barely summon his fire powers. Probably due to the fact that they were in the sea. Sir Jupiter connected eyes with his sister, sharing the same thought. At the same time, they began to electrocute their seaweed. Kaji finally broke through his seaweed and swam over to Rini to cut through hers.

Yume looked down at the seaweed wrapped around her wrists. They seemed loosely tied. After a few seconds of tugging, she broke free easily. _'Strange'_ she thought. Yume didn't have much time to ponder on it due to the roaring of the beasts that suddenly appeared. "Great, right on time," she muttered sarcastically.

The fish started flapping their tails wildly, creating a strong current that knocked into the group forcefully. They were shot back a few good metres until they fell back onto the seafloor. So much for buoyancy. The only good thing that came out of the situation was that the force untangled the others from the seaweed. At least they could fight back now. Or at least try.

Mou pulled out her Artemis Rod. She knew none of her fire attacks would work underwater so she had to settle with her weapon. The humanoid fish soldiers did not waste any time and charged at the group who were ready for them. Mou and Kaji ran forward with their weapons and quickly got engaged in close combat battles with the fish soldiers. Hiroshi joined in with his own sword while Kenzo fended off other soldiers with his nun chucks. Tammy summoned her own golden sword and stormed forward, slashing at the fish soldiers as she did.

The others with working attacks decided to focus on the actual fish. They yelled attack after attack at the giant mutants. They soon figured out that their attacks weren't doing as much damage as they hoped. However, it didn't mean they were going to slow down though as they kept launching their attacks against the enemies.

Neo Jupiter grabbed a giant electric eel in her hands, absorbing the electricity from the eel and transferring the electricity into her body. When she was done, she tossed the eel away from her and focused on a group of mutant fish. Bolts of electricity sparked from her skin and she thrust her hands forward. "Jupiter Boreal Ivory Erosion!" The razor leaves that shot towards the fish were surrounded with a huge electric current. When the leaves came into contact with the fish, they all shuddered from the high voltage and exploded. Maxine grinned victoriously; it was a good idea to use the eel.

Maximillian witnessed his sister charging herself with the eel and proceeded to do the same. He grabbed two eels, charging him with twice the power. The electrical current circled around the handle of his hammer. "Jupiter Thundering Destruction," he shouted. A mass of lightning bolts rammed into another group of fish, electrocuting them until they fizzled into nothing.

Even with the two powerful attacks, the number of mutant fish was still large. At least the fish soldiers were easier to kill since the Knights and Senshi handling them were progressing greatly. But the mutant fish were much too large and most of their attacks worked better above water than they did now.

"Man, I wish they could just get captured by some fishing nets," Rini complained loudly.

Yume's ears perked up at Rini's comment. '_Maybe they can'_ she thought. "Kaji! Do you think you can summon a net?" Yume called out to him below on the seabed.

Kaji stabbed a fish soldier with its own spear before responding back, "Yeah! Why?"

Yume smirked slightly, "Because we're going fishing." She faced the others. "Continue attacking them! I have a plan!" she told them before swimming down to meet Kaji.

"Yume, are you planning something dangerous?!" Rini asked, suspicious.

"Not for us, for them," she replied back, referring to the fish. She waited for Kaji to clear more fish soldiers before approaching him with her plan.

Kaji listened intently to Yume's idea. "But my net won't be big enough for all these creatures," he pointed out.

"I got that part covered. Just summon a net," Yume assured him. Kaji did as he was told and summoned a large surrounding net. They swam up higher and away from the fighting. Yume gripped the net as her hands glowed black and began chanting a spell. The glowing black light spread throughout the net as Yume's magic enchanted the net. "Throw it now!" she ordered. At the same time, she and Kaji released the net and sent it towards the mutant fish. The net grew and expanded around the fish and trapped them in a tight hold. The creatures let out wails and roars of pain as the crackling power of dark magic came into contact with their skins. They all wrangled around in the net until they finally burst into ash.

"Alright! Yume, your plan worked!" Kaji grinned. Yume smiled back before the two went back down to help the others finish with the remaining fish soldiers.

They arrived just in time for Rini to send out a final attack. "Moon Crystal Spiral Revival!" The sparkles and crystals surrounded the soldiers and they screamed as they disintegrated into pink moon dust.

"Finally, we're done," Uratoh breathed out, exhausted.

"These Dark Senshi are not to be underestimated," Mou added in as she returned her Artemis Rod back into its dormant form.

Rini suddenly recalled Arcturus's reminder about keeping track of time. "Takemara, how much time do we have?"

Takemara glanced down at his watch. A second later, Rini watched his eyes widen in alarm. "Three minutes!" he cried.

"Three minutes?!" Tammy repeated in disbelief. "We didn't even find Saki yet!"

"We're certainly not going to find her in time! We have to head back to the surface now!" Kenzo expressed.

"We can't make it back to the surface in three minutes!" Maxine pointed out.

Kaji faced Takemara. "Can't you make a portal?" he asked.

Takemara gave him a hard scowl. "I'm sorry but I'm not a machine. Whether it's been an hour or not, I just spent all my energy in a battle and I'm in no condition to make one," he snapped. Kaji glared slightly at him.

"Takemara, stop it," Tammy warned him. Takemara wanted to protest but Tammy's death glare prevented him from doing so.

Rini turned to Yume with hope visible in her eyes. "I know I shouldn't be promoting this but could you use your powers to bring us back to the surface?" Rini asked.

Yume didn't know how to respond. She already used so much dark magic enchanting the net and she didn't know if she had enough power for another spell at the moment. "I don't know Rini..."

"Please! It's an emergency," Rini pleaded. The others looked at Yume expectantly. She felt a little bit of anger rise in her. Was _she_ the machine now? How could they expect so much from her when she was exhausted from the same battle they took a part of? Still, she knew Rini wouldn't ask if it wasn't such a dire situation. _"Unless she's just using you,"_ the voice in her head said. Yume shook the voice away. She had to try.

"Two minutes!" Takemara warned.

Yume began right away, calling upon the power inside her. She had to reach deep inside her power reserves since she spent so much energy already. Her hands faintly glowed but it still wasn't enough to cast a spell to bring all of them up to the surface.

"One minute," Takemara reminded.

"We need to go!" Hiroshi urged.

Yume tried not to be distracted by her friends and concentrated harder. '_Please, just enough to break the surface! Come on!'_ she thought hard. The glow grew stronger but it still wasn't enough.

"Thirty seconds!"

"Yume!" Kenzo pressed.

"Stop pressuring me!" Yume finally snapped. She was nearly close to breaking into tears. She couldn't do it. The power she had wasn't enough to cast a large enough spell to do anything, not even give them a boost towards the surface.

Rini didn't like seeing her friend under so much stress. She put a comforting arm around Yume's shoulders. "It's okay. You tried your best," Rini whispered to her. Yume nodded as she blinked back tears that were daring to come down. "Let's try swimming up as far as we can," Rini told the rest of the group. They all nodded and started swimming up, feeling the effects of the pill wear off. They were now depending on their own lung capacities.

The fire beings were the first to start slowing down. Tammy had to swim carrying Kaji's arm around her shoulders while Mou and Kenzo were being dragged by Hiroshi and Maximillian respectively. They were still awake but barely as the group pushed on further. Rini saw something up ahead, like the shadow, but then couldn't see it anymore. She was probably imagining things due to the lack of oxygen.

'_No, wait'_ she thought as the shadow appeared again, this time much larger. As if it was approaching them. Rini wanted to find out what the shadow was but her eyelids felt really heavy all of the sudden, prompting her to pass out.

/*/*/*/

Arcturus, Ariel and Tsunami followed a school of bright neon pink fish in a direction where more fish were heading. After they had separated from their friends, Ariel was able to persuade a school of fish to guide them to a community of coral reefs called Two Fish Reefs. It didn't take much persuasion though as it seemed every fish was swimming towards that area for protection from the poisoned black waters. The fish had told the three that Two Fish Reefs was one of the few places they could be safe from the poisoning. The three of them safely decided that the sacred grotto had to be somewhere in there.

The water looked much clearer than it did on the surface and seemed to be clearing up the farther they went. That meant they had to be close. The three felt like they could relax; after all they were in their domain.

"How do you think the others are doing?" Tsunami asked Arcturus while Ariel chatted with the fish. They seemed to all take an instant liking towards her.

"I'm not sure. I feel like we didn't give them enough help," Arcturus admitted. He was starting to think splitting up was a bad idea. They had left the others with no one as a guide. They probably had no idea where to go. A bad feeling began to gnaw at his stomach.

"I see. So do you think they're going to find Saki in time?" questioned Tsunami. Arcturus let the question linger in his mind; he couldn't answer it. Tsunami decided not to press any further and focused on following the school of fish. She peered ahead and noticed a fast moving current approaching. Time for some speed.

"Yes, a current!" Ariel cheered. The group laughed and hollered as they entered the current. Fish of different sizes, colours and species sped past them while the current pulled everyone towards the common destination. It was like a highway for water creatures except the current determined the speed. The three let out a final laugh when they were shot out of the current and into the calm water. They took a moment to grasp their surroundings; they finally arrived.

Towers of brightly coloured coral reefs in shades of pink, orange, yellow and more piled on top of the glittering, sandy seabed. The water was pure and clean; not a single black drop in sight. Water creatures of different species swam and bustled around, entering underwater caves and holes. Everything seemed to sparkle and glow. The sight was outstanding.

"This is awesome," Tsunami said at last, pausing after each word. "I don't even know where to look!"

Arcturus and Ariel nodded their heads in unison. They had a similar feeling back when they were in the Sanctuary of Hermes. It was like déjà vu but still different if that made sense.

Ariel wanted to ask the fish whether or not they could guide them directly to the grove but the little pink fish already swam off. "Well, they're gone," Ariel said to Tsunami and Arcturus.

Tsunami was about to sigh when she noticed a bright and golden trail of light out of the corner of her eye. Without saying anything, she began following the light. Ariel and Arcturus saw her leaving and followed her. The trail of light led into a cave nestled behind small bundles of coral. The group entered through the hole and journeyed down the tunnel.

When they emerged out of the tunnel, they found themselves in an underwater cavern with a hole high up on the ceiling. They noticed different types of furniture in the cavern such as a vanity built into the cave's wall and a bed made out of a giant scallop shell was off on the side. There was even a little sitting area with a long turquoise couch and matching comfy chairs. In the center of the area was a giant oyster sitting on top of a rock slate. That oyster had to be the one that produces the Pisces pearls.

The trio swam forward to the oyster, the water calm around them as they did. Where was the guardian?

"Yes! My visitors have arrived!" a voice exclaimed. The group searched for the source of the voice until a girl hobbled out from behind the oyster. "Hi! I've been expecting you guys. What took so long?"

"Oh...hi. We're looking for the guardian of this oyster," Ariel said.

"You're looking at her!" the woman beamed. The three of them took a moment to look over the woman's appearance. One of the legends they found earlier in the library said that the guardian is actually the twin of the First King Pisces so the group assumed the guardian was a deity too. But this woman certainly did not look like a deity. For one thing, she looked _old _(as in, older than Chronos old). They were aware that deities could alter their appearances to whatever age but they doubted none of them wanted to appear _this _old. The woman had many wrinkles and papery skin. Salt and pepper hair sat on top of her bony shoulders but didn't hide her highly visible collarbones. All her limbs were so thin; Tsunami couldn't understand how she even managed to stay standing. A white dress hung on the woman like a paper bag as she hunched over with imaginary weight on her back. The woman looked at the three with kind eyes but they were a dull, lifeless gray colour. She seemed a bit sad to them.

The woman chuckled lightly at their reactions. "I know, I know. I look too old to be guarding anything," she said.

"Then why are you appearing so old?" Ariel blurted out. Tsunami gave her a disapproving stare. Ariel shrugged apologetically; she was young and curious after all.

"I have no choice," the woman replied. The three looked at her blankly. "You three haven't heard the story before, have you?" she asked after seeing their blank looks. They all shook their heads which made her nod knowingly. "Well then, I must tell you everything," she said, ushering them over to the sitting area. Ariel, Tsunami and Arcturus took their seats on the couch while the woman sat down in one of the chairs.

"First, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet! I am Lady Pisces," she smiled. The others took turns telling Lady Pisces their names. "So you three are Hermes' and Poseidon's current descendants. They have told me wonderful things about you three," Lady Pisces said after they were done with their introductions.

"You're still on speaking terms with Hermes?" Arcturus asked.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be? He's a good friend of mine. He's been especially kind to me during this whole poisoning situation. There is simply not enough room in Two Fish Reefs for every fish so he volunteered in taking some of them in," Lady Pisces told them.

"But he told us that you weren't on the best of terms with him lately," Ariel said.

Lady Pisces looked confused until the realization hit her. "Oh! I believe he meant my brother. You know, the First King of Pisces." The group nodded; they knew at least that much. She continued, "Yeah my brother's pretty sensitive. Sensitivity is in all Pisceans. Hermes must have thought he would be here; we like to trade off time to time. My brother always takes offense with Hermes' jokes. I, on the other hand, always thought his jokes were funny. I guess twins aren't always the same in personality." The three could relate on her words; the two pairs of twins in their group were pretty much opposite in personality.

She turned to face Tsunami. "You know, you look exactly like my younger sister, Amphitrite. The resemblance is uncanny," Lady Pisces noted. Amphitrite was the youngest of the Pisces siblings who went off later to marry the First Royal of Neptune, Poseidon.

Tsunami smiled, "Thanks! I look like my mom so she probably looks like her too."

Lady Pisces shook her head, "I've seen Michiru before but you look more like my sister than she does. I guess Amphitrite's good looks manifested in you." Tsunami smiled and thanked her again. "It's a good thing you came to me first or else my brother would have easily mistaken you as her," she added in. Amphitrite hadn't visited her siblings in a while.

"So Lady Pisces, what exactly happened to you?" Arcturus spoke up after a bit. They watched her eyes sadden slightly.

"Ah yes, my appearance. I was young when I died; I didn't even reach the age where we stop aging," Lady Pisces sighed.

"Aren't you immortal though?" Tsunami asked.

"On normal circumstances, I would have been. When First Royals get married or have siblings, only the crowned ruler becomes the deity after merging while their partners or siblings become immortal and join them in their sanctuaries once the deities have merged. However, I died before my brother could merge with the constellation," she began. "During the development of our kingdoms, we had to face an early enemy from a different dimension. This was before the Dimensional Doors were properly established. Anyway, as the first Sailor Pisces, I went to fight and I basically got turned into sea foam by a sorceress."

"That's awful," Ariel murmured.

Lady Pisces nodded her head sadly. "It was. My brother was devastated. We are very close after all. He spent forever trying to find a way to bring me back and he did. After he merged with the constellation, he brought me back to life from the sea foam. We thought everything was fine, until we discovered the price."

"You can age," Arcturus concluded.

"Yes and I'm not immortal either. My lifespan is still pretty long but eventually I'm going to die from this ancient age. And my powers are pretty weak too; I haven't been able to turn into a fish in forever. Still, I didn't want to just sit around and wait for my eventual death so I asked my brother to put me in charge of watching this oyster," she said, motioning towards the giant oyster. "The pearls produced by this oyster keep life on Pisces relatively safe and bursting with fortune. We made it a tradition for the princesses to protect the pearl, crowned or not. Unless there are no princesses and just princes. Then we have no choice," she ended with a slight smile.

"But Lady Pisces, there has to be a way to give you immortality. Aren't First Royals supposed to be all high and mighty with awesome powers?" Ariel asked.

"Hebe used to have a collection of bottles of rejuvenation water but they have all been lost or stolen and are long gone. Trust me, I thought of everything. The First Royals have limitations too," Lady Pisces sighed.

The group's eyes brightened up at her words. Could the bottle of water be one of the lost bottles Lady Pisces mentioned? Back on Mercury where they scanned it, the substance scanner couldn't identify the liquid. But if the rejuvenation bottles were long lost before they even invented technology for substance scanners, the scanner would have no records of the rejuvenation waters in its database.

Arcturus orbed the bottle of water into his hands and presented it to Lady Pisces. "Could this possibly be one of Hebe's bottles?"

Lady Pisces took the bottle and examined it closely. "I don't know. I can't identify it so that must be a good sign," she admitted.

"Only one way to find out!" Tsunami grinned. Lady Pisces grinned back before popping off the bottle top and drinking the contents. A faint white glow began to emit from her body after she had swallowed.

"Is it working?" she asked the three. They all nodded excitedly as Lady Pisces floated out of her chair and upwards. The white light encased her in a glowing shell. They watched in awe as the shell of light started cracking until it finally burst open. Ariel, Arcturus and Tsunami were left staring at a beautiful young girl.

Instead of the old gray hair, Lady Pisces now had beautiful and wavy blue hair that ran all the way down to her feet. Some strands of hair floated wildly in the water around her while a white water lily stayed perched in her hair. Her skin glowed with youth; there was even a permanent, faint pink blush on her cheeks. The dull gray eyes that showed sadness previously were now a bright turquoise colour sparkling with curiosity and happiness. She was still wearing a white dress but this one hung more closely to her body and hung from her shoulders by straps. This was the real Lady Pisces.

"Oh my fish, it worked!" Lady Pisces squealed with excitement. She swam down to the three. "How did you guys manage to find one of these?! They've been missing since! Oh who cares?! Thank you so much!" she rushed forward and enveloped them into a tight hug.

"We have a great First King," Arcturus whispered to his sister after Lady Pisces released them from the hug. Ariel agreed. Judging by how warm and welcoming Lady Pisces had been, she guessed Hermes entrusted them with the bottle to help his dear friend rather than using it to bargain for a pearl. Hermes was back in Ariel's "cool" books again.

"I feel wonderful," Lady Pisces sighed happily. "And as much as I want to celebrate, we have some business to deal with," she added in.

"Business?" Tsunami asked.

"Your friends, they're in trouble," she clarified. The group's faces turned solemn from the news. Lady Pisces floated over to the giant oyster and pried it open. "And we need to go meet them so you guys can find Saki and give her this pearl," she finished as she reached inside the oyster and grabbed the pearl before closing the shell again.

"Are we going to make it in time?" Ariel asked.

"Not like this! But don't worry, I'll handle it! Close your eyes!"

* * *

><p>Rini felt somebody splattering water on her face before a whole bucket of water came down on her. She jerked upright, coughing and sputtering. "Man, are you trying to wake me up or drown me?!" Rini coughed out. She didn't mean to be rude but she didn't appreciate the rude awakening either.<p>

"I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean any harm." Rini stopped coughing in time to take in the appearance of the owner of the voice. He was a teenage boy roughly the size of eighteen with an innocent face and slightly chubby cheeks. His large and round turquoise eyes were framed by thick eyelashes while the bangs of his bright blue hair slightly hid his eyebrows. The rest of his hair grew out to just above his shoulders She was able to see the rest of him after he offered his hand to her so that she could stand up. He was way taller than her; Rini estimated he was a little over six feet. A white tunic embroidered with baby blue scales clung onto his thin body as he wore white boarder shorts on his long legs. A pale pink shell rested in the chest area on his tunic.

"Uh, hello there," Rini said slowly. "Do you mind telling me where I am? And why I can breathe?"

"You're in the lagoon that is a part of my temple. Also, you're breathing oxygen due to the fact that we are no longer in the water," the boy answered. "Next."

"Okay...where are my friends? And how did I get here?"

"They're just off in the area behind you. They are tending to the fire beings of your group as we speak. Their bodies are in a bit of shock after being unprotected from the deep waters. But I assure you that they are only unconscious, not dead," the boy informed her. Rini nodded at his answer. "Oh and I transported you all here in my mouth." Rini stopped nodding her head and stared at the boy with wide eyes. "Shall we go to them?" the boy asked, gesturing to the area. Rini stared at the boy strangely for a couple of moments before she started walking in that direction.

When they arrived, Rini observed her friends taking care of Mou, Kaji and Kenzo on a smooth and flat rock shore. They were all out of their transformations. They didn't seem too concerned that they had been transported to some place by a strange boy.

Uratoh noticed Rini first. "Hey, you're awake," he grinned at her.

"Yeah...do you guys have any idea what's going on here?" she asked them. She then leaned closer to her friends so that the boy couldn't hear her. "And who exactly is this weird boy who brought us here in his mouth?" she whispered.

Maxine laughed, "Don't be so rude! He's our saviour!"

"Saviour? He's just a teenager," Rini pointed out.

"No, he just _looks_ like a teenager. Rini, I'd like you to meet King Pisces," Tammy said. Rini nearly gasped but she stopped herself from doing so by covering her mouth. She glanced over her shoulder where King Pisces was smirking at her. The skinny, young boy was the First King of Pisces?

"I wanted to look similar in age with my sister. You know, to keep up the whole twin thing," King Pisces spoke up, as if reading her thoughts. "Well, more like we used to look similar."

"Where's your sister?" Rini asked.

Pisces cocked his head to the side as if he was listening to something. "She should be here soon. You guys will probably like her," he replied.

"Great! Can't wait to meet her!" Tammy said enthusiastically. Rini gave her a look which Tammy ignored.

Rini had enough. "Am I the only one who thinks it's strange that this kid brought us here _in his mouth_?!" Rini cried out

Hiroshi waved her off. "Don't be so dramatic," he laughed.

Rini was about to object when Tammy interrupted her. "Rini, Pisces is the king of fish. Wouldn't it make sense for him to have an ability that allowed him to transform into one? More specifically, a giant one?" Tammy was hoping that was enough information to get Rini thinking but instead, she was met with an empty look as a response. Tammy sighed, "A whale, Rini. He turned into a whale and saved us."

"Oh," Rini muttered as the realization finally hit her. "I was seeing a whale's silhouette, not a shadow."

"I couldn't help myself. I had to save you all. If it wasn't for my interference, you would have all died," Pisces told her.

"Thank you so much for doing so," Rini thanked him. "Even if you did bring us here in your mouth."

Pisces was about to respond when he heard noises from the pool of water just off the shore. Everyone turned their heads towards the water and watched as four figures shot out of the water happily then dived back in. All of them looked human from the waistline up but had tails from below the waistline. And three of the figures were their friends.

They waited for their heads to break through the surface. "Ariel! Arcturus! Tsunami!" Rini called out happily.

"Rini!" Arcturus responded, hauling himself out of the water. His sapphire blue tail turned back into his two human legs. He ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her.

Ariel and Tsunami also came out of the water back in their regular forms along with Lady Pisces. King Pisces had shock written all over his face when he saw his sister. "You...You're..." he stammered.

"Young?" Lady Pisces finished for him before rushing over and hugging him. "They brought me a bottle of rejuvenation water, brother. I'm immortal and young now," she explained briefly, motioning over at Ariel, Arcturus and Tsunami. They all bowed down before King Pisces who bowed in return.

"Thank you so much. I am forever in your debt," he said to them.

"We're not so much the ones you should thank," Tsunami said.

"Hermes was the one who made us deliver the bottle," Ariel explained.

Pisces stayed silent for a minute before speaking up. "Then perhaps I should thank him in person," he finally decided, a small smile appearing on his face. "But not before I send you children off to save Sakana," he added in.

"But how are we going to find her when most of us can't breathe underwater?" Maximillian asked.

"And what about Kaji, Mou and Kenzo?" Yume spoke up

Lady Pisces gestured towards Arcturus. "I believe Arcturus's trident can solve your breathing problem," she told them.

"And we will bring your fire friends back to the surface," King Pisces assured them.

"My trident?" Arcturus was confused. He always used his trident for attacks and fighting. Plus that one time he used it to navigate his way through the ice caves but that was after Hermes had upgraded it. Now that Arcturus thought about it, he did recall Hermes telling him he would figure out the many new features his trident had. "Oh! I get it," Arcturus finally said, a smile forming on his face. He tapped the sapphire gem on the trident head and a blue stream of light shot out of it, encircling his friends. Soon the light faded.

"What did you do?" Rini asked, trying to see if the light made any difference.

"Arcturus successfully figured out how to use his trident to make a thin layer of oxygen surround you so that you are able to breathe underwater. It's the same effect of taking a bubble pill but much better and there is no time limit," Lady Pisces answered. "And now you all must hurry off! Saki isn't going last forever now."

King Pisces gestured over to the pool of water. "If you dive in this spot, it should bring you roughly to where Sakana is," he said. The group nodded and those who weren't transformed turned back into their Senshi and Knight forms. One by one, they dived into the water until it was just Ariel, Arcturus, and Tsunami. The three ran back to give Lady Pisces and King Pisces hugs.

"Thank you so much," Ariel smiled.

"We should be thanking you guys!" Lady Pisces laughed. "Make sure to come back and visit; you're always welcomed." They all nodded and promised to do so. Lady Pisces handed over the pearl from the oyster to Ariel. "And don't forget to give this to Saki once she wakes up. Now go!"

The three smiled at the twins again before running back to the water and jumping in. They swam through the water to meet up with their friends who were already far up ahead. The monsters were already gone due to the group's earlier battle so they had nothing much to fear.

Everyone continued to swim forward. It wasn't long before Yume noticed small bits of dark coloured crystal sprouting up from the seabed. She could also feel a heap of dark energy just ahead. They swam further until they reached a whole collection of large dark crystal sitting on the seabed. The group divided up in order to find the specific dark crystal Saki was in.

"Found her!" Maxine cried out. The group gathered over to where Maxine was. Sure enough, petite Saki was trapped inside the dark crystal, her eyes closed.

Rini took off her brooch immediately and lined her Awakening Ring with the pink jewel. "Moon Awakening!" she called out. In a moment, the two beams of light that surrounded her burst into sparkles, leaving Rini in the new form. She swiped her ring along the surface of the dark crystal then placed her hand on it. "Holy Moonlight Awakening," she stated. The group moved back to prevent getting hit by the shards when the beams of light finally shattered the crystal. Saki was finally free but still motionless.

Maximilian picked Saki up gently and draped her over his left shoulder. There was no way she was going to be waking up at that moment. Not when her energy was at such a low level. Rini could practically see Saki's bones, demonstrating how much thinner she was than usual. "Come on, let's get back to the surface," she said to her friends. They all agreed and began swimming up where they could finally see a bit of light.

* * *

><p><span>AN: This chapter is officially the longest chapter I have EVER written for a fanfic. I seriously could not have divided this chapter into two like I wanted to do so I had to keep it all in one. But hey, it's an update! It should make up for all the time between this chapter and the last. I am _hoping_ to get at least one more chapter out before school starts. Wish me luck! Also I'm putting a disclaimer for Mou's Artemis Rod, the weapon she used to fight with. Mou is one of my friend's character and she used the Artemis Rod from Vampire Knight so I do not claim it as my own. And don't forget to leave a review!


	15. Cleansing of the Pearl

Chapter Fifteen: Cleansing of the Pearl:

Kenzo's eyes flickered repeatedly before his eyelids finally opened halfway. He moaned, feeling terrible. He could feel his body shivering underneath some thick blankets. Never in his life had he felt so cold before. He was actually feeling quite worried that his body temperature was way below its usual high temperature, being a fire being and all.

"Oh hey! You're awake!"

The voice startled Kenzo. With wide eyes, he tried looking for the source of the voice until Yume's head popped into view. "Hey, sleepy head! How are you feeling?" Yume softened her words, adding in a slight smile.

Kenzo had to remember to breathe. Maybe it was the lighting or maybe he was delusional from being out so long, but Yume was looking very pretty to him at the moment.

"Uh...I still feel terrible," he stammered while trying to push away his thoughts about Yume. "Where are we?"

"In the infirmary," Yume replied. "You guys basically knocked out while we were swimming due to the cold. Your bodies went into shock. But the doctors said you'll regain your high body temperature soon enough."

Kenzo groaned but nodded his head. He couldn't believe he passed out. Now he was stuck in the infirmary _again_. At least he was going to be fine. "You know," Kenzo started, "this picture seems awfully familiar."

Yume's lips spread out into another smile. "I know, right?" Then, almost as an afterthought, her smile quickly vanished. "The first time, you were in an infirmary because of me and now you're in an infirmary again because of me."

After hearing Yume's words, Kenzo could sense the direction the conversation was going. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that. It's really not your fault, Yume," he assured her. "You were too tired, I get it. We were wrong to push you."

Yume shook her head in protest. "It's like I can do the magic perfectly when there's an intention to harm or destroy but when I need to save my friends, my powers fail me."

"It might be that necklace, you know," Kenzo said, eyeing the chain around Yume's neck. The actual jewel couldn't be seen since Yume had it tucked underneath her shirt. "It doesn't exactly scream _trustworthy_."

Yume took a moment to think about that possibility. She had to admit it did sound reasonable. After all, Nyx was a Dark Senshi. How could she be completely trusted? But at the same time, she could doubt it. She felt like the necklace was helping her more than harming her. She didn't want to admit that to Kenzo though. "I guess that might be the problem," she replied with a shrug.

Kenzo really wanted Yume to realize that he didn't blame her for anything that happened. She wasn't even supposed to be using dark magic yet he and the others were the ones that made her do so. If anything, the blame was on everyone else. "I really think it's not your fault. I'm not just saying it," Kenzo told her with sincerity, staring her straight in the eye.

This time, Yume gave him a real smile. "Thanks, Kenzo." She placed her hand on top of his, causing him to smile as well. Instantly, Kenzo could feel his face warming up. Was he _blushing_? What was getting into him lately? "Hey, you're warming up! That's great." Yume pointed out after seeing some warmth return to Kenzo's face. She didn't even notice he was really blushing.

"Hey Yume! Did you just say Kenzo is warming up?" Kenzo's smile vanished at the sound of the voice. It sounded awfully similar to Tammy's. But that wasn't possible since he and Yume were the only ones in the room. Unless...

He sat up in his bed and finally realized that he and Yume were _not_ alone. Kenzo didn't know why it didn't occur to him that Mou and Kaji must have been in the infirmary too since they had also fell unconscious. Mou's bed was nearest to the door and she had Hiroshi and Maxine looking after her. Kaji's bed was on the opposite side of the room from Mou. He was sitting upright being fed soup by Tammy (which, Kenzo knew, Takemara would strongly disapprove). Kenzo observed that his own bed location was at the south side of the room.

He looked back to Yume. He thought they were the only ones in the room. What if the others heard him speaking so kindly to her? They would probably assume he had some type of crush on her, which he knew he didn't. But if they had overheard the conversation, they didn't show it. "It's good to see you up, Kenzo," Maxine said.

"Yeah, well I still feel terrible." His tone was back to its regular, snarky form. Yume gave him a questioning look, her eyebrows raised.

Tammy decided to overlook Kenzo's tone. After all, he was probably just grumpy from being sick. "We would call Ariel and tell her to check on your state but she's pretty busy at the moment."

"Doing what?"

"She, Arcturus and Rini are waiting to see Saki," answered Hiroshi.

/*/*/*/

"It's quiet in there now." Rini had her ear pressed against the wall next to the door of Saki's private room. She, Arcturus and Ariel were told to wait outside the room until the doctors were done. It didn't seem like Saki's condition was going to improve judging by the panicked, hushed voices Rini heard earlier.

"I guess we took too long saving her," Ariel said, her voice small. She carried Pisces's Peal in her hands, caressing it worriedly. "If only I figured out the disappearance order theory earlier."

Arcturus put a hand on his sister's shoulder to install assurance in her. "It's not your fault, Ariel. Besides, it's too early to tell what they're saying."

Rini let out a frustrated groan before leaning against the wall and sliding down on her back. "I can't hear a thing," she told them.

Footsteps sounded from down the corridor. The three peered down to see a young boy rushing towards them. Strands of his light blue hair stood wildly and disorderly and his sea green eyes were filled with worry. He stopped and bent over panting once he reached them. "My sister...is she...fine?" he asked between breaths.

"We don't know yet, Hikaru," Arcturus answered as Saki's little brother tried to regain his breath. Hikaru's eyes were sad as he straightened up, looking at the door.

"I should have been here earlier. But since Ookisa is gone, I had to wait for a shuttle," he sighed. Hikaru was away from Pisces when his sister had been saved so he couldn't see her immediately.

"It's okay, Hikaru. There's nothing you could have done to get here faster," Rini said.

Hikaru gave Rini a tiny smile but it was clear that he was still worried. He sat on a limestone bench opposite of the doors with his head in his hands. Sometimes it seemed to Rini that Hikaru was much more mature than Saki despite being nine years old, three years younger than Saki. But at that moment, she could see a fragile boy who was stricken with concern over his sister. She wanted to comfort him but she was feeling uneasy herself.

The four jumped slightly when the doors suddenly opened. The doctors exited quickly while the king and queen followed closely behind. Hikaru tried to question his parents but they quickly steered away from his attempts and left in a hurry. He looked to Rini, Arcturus and Ariel for an explanation but none of them could provide any.

"Should we wait out here then?" he asked.

Arcturus shook his head. "We might as well go in while we have the chance." He entered the room with the others following his lead. Inside the room, Saki laid still in a somewhat shallow tank of water. The tank was raised not too high above the ground and the exterior was a deep blue colour with imprints of different types of shells embedded into it. Surely she was placed in there to increase her chances of survival seeing how she was a water being and water would usually revive her under normal circumstances. However, the circumstances were far from normal since they were dealing with dark magic here. Maybe the water was having little to no effect.

As they approached, the pearl in Ariel's hands pulsed with energy. Ariel held up the pearl and examined it but it appeared to be no different than how it had been before. Little gears could practically be seen in her mind as an idea began to formulate the longer she stared at the pearl. "I think I know how to wake her," she spoke up with mild uncertainty, wondering if her idea would really work.

Hikaru glanced over at Ariel and Pisces' Pearl and caught on quickly. "The pearl works to ensure fortune of life on Pisces so maybe it might wake up Saki if we put it in her hands or something."

"And since it comes from Pisces, it must have some kind of blessing on it to restore some of her energy like what Aries did to Mou," Arcturus added in with a renewed sense of hope.

Rini grinned with anticipation. "Then put it in her hands already!"

Ariel stood over the tank, peering down. Saki's lengthy blue hair fanned out around her floating over the slightly waving water. Her skin was regularly a milky white colour but anyone could tell her current complexion showed little good health. Her limbs were spread out almost like a starfish, possibly to keep Saki afloat but Ariel didn't think it matter whether she was completely submerged or not. If they didn't help her soon, Saki would shut down.

Ariel reached over to bring Saki's hands to her chest and curved the palms over the pearl Ariel had just placed in her hands. She then backed away from the tank slightly to observe the effect. At first, nothing happened. Hikaru didn't try to hide the defeat he felt as his shoulders slumped and a frown formed on his face. Then, the pearl began to emit a low humming sound. The sound grew louder as a translucent blue substance began to seep out of the pearl. The substance formed around Saki in a bubble before absorbing into her skin. The Pisces symbol on her forehead began to glow just as bright sky blue beams of light shot out of the pearl in multiple directions. Rini, Hikaru and Arcturus all ducked while Ariel ran away from the tank to crouch under the nearest table. Lights continued to shoot out of the pearl and dart around the room and out into the hallway. It was plain to see that Pisces' Pearl was fulfilling its purpose.

In an instant, the lights stopped shooting out and silence fell upon the room, the humming sound gone as well. Rini stood upright and gazed out the window. The sky was clear and the black colour that had tainted the waters of the seas was fading away. At that moment, Rini knew that Pisces would be back to its normal state in no time.

"Um, would somebody mind telling me what's going on?" Rini's attention was drawn to the owner of the voice. Saki was sitting on the edge of the tank in her tattered blue Senshi uniform, rubbing her eyes as if she had woken up from a long nap.

"Saki!" Hikaru exclaimed before running over and engulfing her into a hug. The action nearly toppled the two into the tank but Arcturus speedily reached them in time to steady Saki. When Hikaru finally let go of his sister, she stood up unsteadily trying to get down from the tank. Hikaru placed one of her arms over his shoulder and he and Arcturus helped Saki down.

"I feel like I've been sat on by a whale," Saki mumbled after they had settled her into a chair. "I guess I didn't stand a chance against those Dark Senshi."

"Do you remember what happened just before you got caught?" Ariel asked.

"I-." Saki left her sentence unfinished as a frown appeared on her face. "I can't remember," she told them.

Ariel glanced quickly at Rini and Arcturus who returned the look. There was something unusual about the way Saki suddenly looked confused. They looked over to Hikaru who also shrugged. Maybe Saki was still not feeling well enough to remember anything at the moment.

Rini decided to move on from the matter. "Well you're safe now, Saki. Now we have to move onto the next Zodiac," Rini said.

"The next Zodiac? The others are missing?" Saki's eyes were wide with concern.

"Everyone except for Mou. We found her first then we found you," Arcturus clarified.

Hikaru seemed to remember something all of the sudden. "Before I went to help look for my sister, I remember hearing Tei went missing too." Tei was princess of Aquarius and Sailor Aquarius of Akaaka's guard.

"That matches with our disappearance theory," Rini said, looking over at Ariel and Arcturus. The two shared a look; the theory was right so far but Hermes had warned them to be careful with it so they shouldn't depend on it entirely. It seemed okay to go ahead and look for Tei next though.

"So we're going to look for Tei then?" Saki spoke up.

"_We_ are but _you_ are going to stay here and regain your strength. Your kingdom needs you right now and you're not in any condition to fight," Rini told her firmly.

"But-." Rini silenced Saki by shaking her head adamantly. Despite the renewed energy the pearl gave Saki, she could tell that Saki would not be able to take any battles in her condition. Plus, their group was already so large. There would be little efficiency in their mission if every single Zodiac were to come along with them and not to mention an even bigger target on their already exposed backs.

Arcturus could tell Saki didn't like feeling useless and probably was thinking she was failing Akaaka. He placed a hand on Saki's shoulder and gave her an assuring smile. "Don't worry, Saki. We'll call you when we are actually going to go and save Akaaka." Saki, feeling comforted by Arcturus's words, smiled back at him.

Their attention was drawn to the door where Takemara and Uratoh poked their heads through the doorway. "Hey, did you guys see those beams of lights?" Uratoh asked, not seeing Saki from his position at the door.

"It was so random! One moment we were just eating lunch and then-." Takemara stopped after Hikaru moved to the side a bit and revealed Saki in her chair. All Takemara could say was, "Oh."

Saki held up the pearl. "Those beams of lights were created by this pearl and also just happened to wake me up," she said with a smile. Takemara and Uratoh both grinned before walking over and telling her that they were glad she was fine.

Rini nudged Takemara's arm a bit to get his attention. "Takemara, how do you feel about making a portal to Aquarius?"

Takemara gave her a thumb up. "I'm on it."

* * *

><p>"Another one rescued," Nyx mumbled to herself. "And I really thought she would die." She stayed sitting on the deep purple velvet covers of her canopy bed with her legs crossed and her chin resting on her hand. There was no doubt that she and the other Dark Senshi were going easy on them. She knew they had to manipulate their minds and make them think they could save each Zodiac in time. But it was tiring to go easy on people she despised greatly. They didn't deserve such mercy. She wanted them to feel the pain she suffered through.<p>

As if sensing an arrival, Nyx raised her hand at the doors of her bedroom and they opened to reveal one of her female attendants in her full body suit and pendant. The girl bowed her head before speaking. "Our High Lady wishes for you to join her in the meeting room."

"Of course," Nyx muttered. She was expecting such a call. Nyx dismissed the attendant before jumping down from the bed. She walked over to the shadow of her dresser a blazing torch mounted on her wall was casting and sank into the shadow. When she emerged, she was in the meeting room in a chair along one of the sides of the table. She looked ahead to the other side to see that her other two comrades had arrived. Their leader was seated in her grand chair already in a black floor length gown with lacy black sleeves and her lengthy deep purple hair gathered over one of her shoulders.

"Nyx," she purred, her voice having a velvety feel to it. "How nice of you to join us."

Nyx bowed her head to her leader. "I take that you are well, my lady?"

"Depends on how this follow up will go," the leader replied. "Another Zodiac has been saved, I'm afraid?" She casted a side glance over at Nyx's two comrades.

"Yes." the older one spoke up. Even though the meeting room was dark and shadowy as usual, Nyx could make out their faces perfectly down to the tiniest detail. "However, it was one of the weakest ones so it balances out their rescue of the strongest one. Besides, we are remembering to follow your orders of going easy on them for now," she explained.

"Hm." Their leader tapped her fingernails against the table's surface. "I do recall giving you an order to go easy on them, not hand over victories on a silver platter. We still need to test the girl's breakage points after all," she said.

"Of course, my lady."

"Who's going to deal with them on Aquarius?" Nyx asked. She was hoping that it would be her but their leader wanted her to relax a bit regarding attacks. Nyx had a connection in that group and their leader didn't want her to become manipulated. But Nyx was confident that she would never allow herself to be manipulated.

"I believe it is my turn," Nyx's older comrade said. "They haven't met me yet," she finished off with a slight smirk. The other girl snickered softly.

Their leader nodded before she focused her attention back on Nyx. "Speaking of the girl, I believe she received the book well?"

Nyx shook her head. "There were no problems," Nyx said.

Their leader's lips spread out into a smile. "Beautiful. I was hoping for this meeting to improve my mood." She snapped her fingers and a glass of a rich burgundy coloured wine appeared in her right hand. She sipped it tentatively. "You ladies are dismissed."

The three girls bowed their heads to their leader before exiting the room in their unique fashions.

* * *

><p>Yume hummed to herself as she gathered her belongings back into her bag in her guest room. They were preparing to leave to the constellation Aquarius to find Tei. She picked up one of her sweaters to fold and stopped humming. Laying flat on the bed was the book she was reading earlier, the same one from the library on Mercury. She hadn't seen it since they arrived on Pisces and almost couldn't believe it but there it was. Yume slowly picked up the book as she wondered how she managed to make it disappear in the first place. She hesitated at first but then she placed the book in her bag and packed the rest of her things into it before zipping it shut.<p>

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Yume exited the room. They planned to meet in the main entrance but first Yume had to go and help Kenzo in the infirmary. His condition was still weak and he was still cold but he, Mou and Kaji were going to come along to Aquarius. They just weren't just going to partake in the actual rescue.

Before making the turn, she spotted Ariel up ahead. Yume figured she could ask Ariel about the book since it was in the Athena Library and Ariel was basically a walking catalogue for that place. "Ariel, wait up!" she called out while running towards her. Ariel looked over her shoulder and saw Yume and stopped so that she could catch up.

"What's up?" Ariel asked.

"Back on Mercury, I found a book while we were searching. It was thick and the colour of a plum with a lacy border but it had no title or author," she explained. "I was hoping you knew what the book is."

Ariel frowned. "That's strange; every single book in that library has at least a title or author."

"Really?" Ariel's words confirmed her suspicions about the book not belonging there. But why would the book be there if it didn't belong there? And more importantly, why did she find it, of all people?

"Do you have it with you?" Her thoughts were suddenly disrupted by Ariel's question. "Maybe if I see it, I might recognize it. Or I could even do a cross reference with the library's database on my tablet," Ariel suggested.

Yume hesitated as a sudden desire to keep the book all to herself overcame her. She needed to read more and discover the contents. She finally spoke up. "No," Yume lied. "I left it where I found it."

"Oh. Well that's fine. Maybe it was waiting to be catalogued and ended up on a shelving cart somehow," Ariel said. Yume nodded, keeping a smile on her face. "Well I'll meet you in the front." Yume gave a little wave as Ariel left. She felt a little pang of guilt, which she expected, from lying to Ariel. But almost as soon as she felt it, it disappeared. She decided not to ponder on her lack of guilt and focused on getting to the infirmary to help Kenzo.

/*/*/*/

A harsh breeze blew through the air as the group arrived on Aquarius through the portal. Rini wrapped the scarf around her neck tighter, knowing that the air was cooler since they were at a higher altitude. The floor beneath them was light and fluffy like cotton candy. The castle of Aquarius was situated on a large, puffy central cloud. It was a tall structure with cream coloured stones and pink flags at the tips of the castle's towers whipped wildly from the wind.

They located the castle's main entrance and walked inside. Servants greeted them in the main hall. Rini had called ahead of time so that Mou, Kaji and Kenzo could be taken to the infirmary as soon as they arrived.

"Are you sure you guys are going to be okay? I'm feeling much better," Mou said. She may have said she was fine but Rini could tell that Mou was still shivering, a sure sign that she was still ill.

"Nope. You guys need to rest," Rini said.

"All we've been doing is resting," Kenzo protested.

Kimiko, who had recovered from Martian Fever finally, shook her head. "Now look who's complaining."

"But we can still fight." Kaji pouted slightly after crossing his arms.

Tammy let out a light chuckle before patting Kaji on the head playfully. "It's okay. We'll manage without your fighting abilities."

"Alright, goodbyes are over." Takemara intervened, grabbing Tammy's hand and gesturing for the servants to escort the three to the infirmary. Tammy gave him a look which he promptly ignored. Kenzo waved to Yume who returned it as he, Kaji and Mou were steered away.

After dropping the three off, the group exited the castle. This time, they had no leads to follow. No abnormal changes of weather, no unusual activity, no signs from any deities. It was just them trying to figure things out and find Tei as quickly as possible. As they walked, Rini noticed her pigtails being pulled up as if strings were tugging on them from above. "Hey..." she trailed off, feeling her feet lift up from the wispy floor. She didn't recall Aquarius having a gravity problem. "What's going on?" she asked, looking to her friends for some answers. At that moment, she realized that they were floating off the ground too.

"We're floating!" Maxine cried out. She flailed her arms in an attempt to bring her back down but it wasn't working. It was almost like something was pulling them up.

"Look at that!" They all followed Uratoh's finger that was pointing upwards. A wind tunnel the colour of charcoal was whipping around, creating harsh and violent winds. They screamed as the wind carried them higher and higher until they were sucked into the wind tunnel.

* * *

><p><span>AN: Another slow update. Sorry it's taking so long. School's starting to pick up and the middle of the story is always the hardest part for me because I'm much more prone to writer's block. Also, take note that Nyx's leader's appearance changed in this chapter. I thought the way I described her hair made her seem like Queen Beryl, which she is not. I will go back and change it in the earlier chapter but I just wanted to let you readers know. Please leave a review!


	16. Aquarius: The Water Carrier

Chapter Sixteen: Aquarius: The Water Carrier:

The wind tunnel deposited everyone harshly onto a darkened cloud. At least the landing was soft, Rini thought, until everyone else landed on top of her. She wondered why it was always her getting squished at the bottom of the pile. Worst of all, it seemed like her friends were taking their sweet time getting off her.

"Um, hell-o? You guys are crushing me!" Rini cried out. All her friends clambered off the pile and Arcturus extended a hand out to help Rini up.

"Whoa. Check this out," Hiroshi said while glancing around. They were standing on ash coloured clouds while the sky was an even deeper grey. The area was deserted with no signs of the castle, houses or any other life anywhere.

"There's nothing. It's just all dark and gloomy," Kimiko said.

"Then how do we get out of here?" Maximillian asked. Nobody answered.

Ariel read through the search she just conducted on her tablet. "There's some kind of energy source here." Yume paused and closed her eyes briefly. She could feel it too. It was dark energy. But strangely enough, she couldn't pinpoint an exact direction, as if the dark energy was all around them or constantly moving.

Thunder rumbled. A bolt of black lightning blasted down from the sky. Maxine yelped and leaped away. Smoke rose from the spot Maxine once stood on as the hole that was created patched itself back together with the clouds.

"Transform!" Rini ordered.

They didn't need to be told twice. They pulled out their transformation devices and changed into their Senshi and Knight forms. Their muscles were tense while they stood in their battle stances, expecting something to suddenly pop out.

A violent breeze travelled through the air. The hairs on Sailor Neo Saturn's neck stood up instantly. She could feel a strong presence hovering somewhere near her. A whisper sounded through the wind. _"You cannot stop revenge from being executed."_ Neo Saturn couldn't help but let a shudder pass through her body. The voice sounded so chilling.

Sir Saturn glanced over at his sister. She looked spooked. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked her, touching her arm gently.

His touch brought Neo Saturn back to attention. "Oh it's nothing. Just feeling a bit anxious." She tried to shake him off with a smile but Uratoh wasn't buying it.

"Yume-."

"Something's materializing," Neo Venus said while watching something in the distance. A giant twister had descended from the sky spewing out black shadows. The shadows bended and wrapped around each other before fading away, revealing a girl not much older than Sailor Neo Neptune. She was tall with skin the colour of marble. Strands of her short, stark white hair flicked the sides of her face occasionally. The Senshi uniform she wore was white with a midnight blue and black skirt and collar. Her knee high boots and elbow length gloves of the same midnight blue colour were lightly dusted with black sparkles. Her front and back bows were both black while the chain around her neck displayed a lapis lazuli stone pendant with an obsidian stone on top. The pendant declared her a Dark Senshi.

Neo Moon found herself staring into the eyes of the girl. Her eyes were round and deep royal blue. They showed no sympathy but instead showed silent fury. But beyond that, Rini could see plain sorrow. It was so strong that Rini felt an overwhelming feeling of pity wash over her.

The girl suddenly fixed her eyes on Rini's, narrowing them slightly. "I am aware that you have weak will but I implore you to resist that sense of pity you feel. I cannot be merciful to those who feel pity towards me," she spoke. Rini wanted to ask how the girl knew what she was feeling but the girl's stare made her throat dry. She felt herself breathe again when the girl finally broke eye contact with her. The girl started scanning the rest of the group, pausing on each person as if she was analyzing them carefully. Rini soon realized that the girl was judging them.

"What do you want?" Rini demanded.

The girl slightly tipped her head to the side, pondering over the question.

"What do I want?" she repeated. "It is a simple answer. I want revenge."

Yume's ears perked up. There was that word again. Revenge. The voice in the wind said that too. Somehow she knew who the girl was. "You were the voice in the wind. You're Sailor Nemesis," she said.

Sailor Nemesis didn't seem surprised. In fact, she nodded knowingly. "I expected you to know at least that much." She folded her hands behind her back. "Allow me to explain the concept of revenge for you. If you do something to me, I get to do something back. It's all about balance, you see."

"But we didn't do anything to you," Neo Neptune pointed out.

"It would appear that way. But there are many forms of revenge. Indirectly, you have harmed me," Nemesis said.

"What do you mean _indirectly_?" Sir Venus asked.

Nemesis ignored his question. "I am not here for my personal revenge though. I am simply acting on behalf of the Dark Senshi. The Dark Senshi have had the common motive of revenge since we were formed. It is one of the fundamental principles we were based upon."

"But."

"Silence!" Nemesis thrust her hand out and a wild guest of wind knocked into the Senshi and Knights. They flew back a good twenty feet before landing on their backs. "I did not come here to talk. I came to act," she said.

Rini groaned and tried to stand up, feeling disoriented. Once she and the others finally stood up, Sailor Nemesis was crouching down and implanting something diamond shaped into the cloud floor. A lapis lazuli stone.

"In the darkest forms of vengeance, may this lapis lazuli turn into a dark spirit to enact our revenge," Nemesis chanted. An image of a circle with a pair of scales inside the ring appeared under the lapis lazuli. The jewel and symbol pulsed with flashes of light periodically before smoke trailed out of the tip of the jewel and spiralled up into the air. With a pop, the smoke crackled and dissipated to reveal a hooded figure. Black clouds floated beneath its feet, flashing with lightning. The group couldn't really see a face; only a mass of black clouds. Yume noticed that the hands that peaked out of the navy blue cloak were shaped like hands but instead of flesh, they were made out of clouds.

"It's another spirit," Sir Uranus growled.

"But what kind?" Rini asked.

Nemesis stared at Yume who felt like she was being judged. "I'm sure your friend knows," she spoke to the others. With a slight smirk, Nemesis moved her hand in a small circular motion in the air then closed her hand. She disappeared with a dark blue cloud of thick smoke.

The spirit raised its arms and thrust them forward in a sweeping motion. Gusts of wind shot towards them with crackling strands of black energy. They all dodged at first but then the winds came back around and hit them in their backs. They yelped in pain from the sheer force as they were knocked forward. They struggled up just in time for the spirit to send another round of biting winds at them.

"Split!" Rini commanded.

Everyone split off into different directions as the cluster of winds diverged into smaller ones and followed them. The Senshi and Knights ran away from the winds hoping to outrun them but the winds were still following in close pursuit.

"We need to attack that thing!" Sir Pluto shouted.

"But we can't do that without getting hit by these winds!" Neo Mercury cried. The spirit raised a hand and lightning shot down right in front of Ariel. She had to do a quick roll to move out of the way first before standing back on her feet to continue running from the winds.

Yume was in deep thought as she ran alongside Neo Mars away from the winds. The spirit was made out of clouds and had control over winds along with the ability to call on lightning. Then it hit her. "Spiritus Caelum!" she proclaimed.

"What the heck does that mean?!" Hiroshi wondered out loud.

"It's Latin! It means Sky Spirit! It has powers of winds and weather," clarified Ariel.

"How are we supposed to fight against sky-based powers?" asked Sir Jupiter. Yume cursed mentally; Max was right. Basically everyone's powers were elemental based. If they were to use their attacks, the spirit would simply find a way to counteract the attacks. The elemental people in the group would be useless in this fight to a certain degree. Even Yume and her brother would be at a disadvantage since their powers were darkness and all spirits naturally had powers of darkness. Yume knew they had to depend on their friends that didn't have elemental powers.

"Guys, only the ones who don't have elemental and darkness based powers should attack!" Yume jumped away from a bolt of lightning before ducking to avoid a column of frosty winds.

"That's only Takemara, Aeneas, Tammy and me!" Rini pointed out after rolling aside to dodge another attack by the spirit.

Sir Venus tried to shoot his arrow at the spirit but it summoned a small twister of winds in his direction. He had no choice but to forget about the attack and run. "I can't even shoot the thing! It's too focused on us," he said. Now that Aeneas pointed it out, Yume did notice the more severe attacks were being directed at Aeneas, Tammy, Takemara and Rini. The spirit probably knew that those four had powers that could possibly destroy it.

"Then it's up to the rest of us to distract it!" Yume said. The others nodded and fired their own attacks at the spirit to get it distracted and more focused on counterattacking rather than trying to hurt the other four. It was slightly working but Yume could they were going to need more help.

She took a deep breath and tried concentrating her mind on the magic and not on the roaring of the winds chasing her. A translucent black light encased her body and flickered periodically. "Effingo!" she recited. The black light expanded and split away from her to form another copy of Yume. It split off again and again into more copies and continued until there were about a dozen duplicates of Yume present.

Rini stopped in place once she saw the copies. "Whoa, Yume..."

Yume said something to the duplicates and they began running around. The spirit soon became confused by the sudden duplicates and began launching winds and lightning at the copies, trying to find the real Yume.

The others tried their best to interfere with the spirit's plans by firing their own attacks to throw it off track. Tammy and Aeneas were ready to take advantage of the spirit's frantic state.

"Venus Sonic Light Arrows!" Aeneas called out, sending two golden arrows straight at the spirit.

"Venus Shining Shock Wave!" Tammy's yellow and golden hearts hovered around the arrows as they travelled towards the spirit. The two attacks hit the spirit squarely in the chest. It stumbled off its cloud and the hood of its cloak fell off. As a result, the attacks became even more chaotic. Bolts of lightning and winds shot out of its cloak in random directions. The others had to stop using their attacks in order to dodge the new winds. It seemed like the spirit barely had control over its own powers. It was struggling to put on the hood of the cloak in a desperate manner.

Yume stopped and watched the spirit. With the spirit they fought earlier back in Crystal Tokyo, it was powerless once the cloak was gone. The cloak must be the main source of the spirit's powers! "Guys, the cloak-." A bolt of lightning struck her back and she fell down. Her Senshi transformation left her as tendrils of smoke began to rise from her body. The multiple copies of her vanished into purple smoke.

"Yume!" Rini cried out. She tried to run over to her but a mass of winds knocked her off course. She landed on the floor with a yelp, her hair in disarray. She huffed and pushed her hair away from her face. "Alright! I've had enough!" Rini shouted. She searched for Arcturus until she spotted him running away from the winds at high speed. "Arcturus, run towards the spirit!" she called out to him.

Sir Mercury acted immediately, understanding Rini's plan. He turned and ran at the disoriented spirit. The other winds that were bothering the others left them alone to follow Arcturus. Just as he was about to run into the spirit, Arcturus made a quick, sharp turn while the mass of winds continued travelling forward and rammed into the spirit. It fell onto its back, slightly motionless.

"Takemara, now!" Rini ordered.

Sir Pluto directed his staff at the fallen spirit. "Pluto Time Swirling Vortex!" he called out. The vortex sucked the navy blue cloak away from the spirit and ripped it into many tiny pieces. The winds and lightning stopped while a wrinkled black corpse that was previously Spiritus Caelum remained.

Rini raised her sceptre as the crystal collected the pink energy. "Pink Crystal Spiral Revival!" she cried. The tiny crystals and sparkles collided with the spirit's body. It let out a piercing shriek as it exploded into dust.

Rini barely took a breath of relief before the winds started to pick up again and spread around the spirit's dust. Suddenly, multiple wind tunnels formed in the sky and began drawing several of the Senshi and Knights in. One tunnel sucked in Ariel, Kimiko and Uratoh. Another pulled in Tsunami, Aeneas and Takemara. At this time, the others realized they needed to escape but there was nowhere to go. The winds were so strong that they couldn't even manage to run away.

Max was carrying Yume and was trying to his best to get away but even he was drawn into the tunnel along with Arcturus and Maxine. The tunnels closed as a final, giant wind tunnel opened above the remaining members. The tunnel sucked them in then closed up afterwards.

* * *

><p>Rini, Tammy and Hiroshi collapsed onto the cloud floor after the wind tunnel shot them out. With several groans, they stood up as the air blew against them. The dull scenery appeared unchanged but now it was just them alone without their friends.<p>

"Where do you think the others got taken to?" Tammy asked while she looked around for something, anything.

"No idea. Should we try contacting them?" Hiroshi suggested.

Rini pulled out her communicator and pushed the Mercury button to contact Arcturus. No such luck. Her communicator only showed static. "Why don't these ever work anymore?" Rini grumbled. The other two sighed as she put the communicator away.

Tammy lowered herself to the ground and sat forward with her knees up. "Now what?"

Hiroshi shrugged and placed one of his hands on his sword. He wandered around the grey area slightly while wondering what to do next. The three of them were alone and separated from the rest of their friends. There wasn't a single thing in sight except for the grey clouds. And the wind was blowing against them harshly as if it didn't want them to be there. They finally reached a dead end.

"_Look up."_ Hiroshi stopped in place and glanced around to see if someone had suddenly appeared. There was no one. _"I said, look up."_ This time, Hiroshi looked over at Rini and Tammy but it didn't seem like any of them spoke.

"Did you guys hear that?" he asked.

Rini looked at him, confused. "Hear what?"

"It was a voice...and it was telling me to look up..." Hiroshi trailed off after seeing the perplexed expressions on the girls' faces. "Hey, don't look at me like that! I wasn't imagining anything," he protested.

Tammy chuckled. "Are you sure? Because if I look up now..." Tammy stopped as she stared up at the sky. "Huh?"

Rini followed her friend's stare upwards. "Hey! I think I see something sparkling up there!" she exclaimed.

Hiroshi looked up as well. Way up above were a bunch of grey clouds but from their position on the ground, one of the clouds seemed to have something sparkly on top. "Well, I guess the voice was right," he said.

"It must be the dark crystal that has Tei! Now we just have to get up there and we'll be all good to go," Rini said.

Tammy gave Rini a questionable look. The way she said it made it seem too easy. Tammy reluctantly stood up. "Should I try giving us all wings so we can get up there?" she suggested. Rini nodded and took Tammy's right hand into hers. Hiroshi grabbed the other hand. Tammy closed her eyes as an orange light began to emit from their clasped hands. A moment later, fresh pairs of wings sprouted out from Rini's and Hiroshi's backs.

They all hopped into the air, flapping their wings as they travelled upwards. However, they didn't get too far. The wind struck against them and forced them back to the ground. They tried again but the wind wasn't letting up. On their third try, they barely managed to hover off the ground before they were pushed back down again. Rini let out a frustrated groan as she removed her hand from Tammy's, the wings disappearing from her back. "Seriously?!" she huffed.

"I knew something was too easy about this. The wind won't let us get up." Tammy sighed.

Hiroshi sighed as well and kicked the wispy cloud ground. "So we're back to phase one," he said.

"_No you're not."_

There it was again. That voice. Hiroshi felt used to it already. "Yes we are. How are we supposed to get up there if the wind is fighting against us?" he asked the voice. Tammy and Rini stared at Hiroshi as if he was crazy.

"Who's he talking to?" Rini whispered to Tammy who just shrugged.

"_You speak as if you are not a child of the winds. Listen boy, the winds have been manipulated to act against you. But wind is unpredictable. It can easily change sides if you are willing to cooperate,"_ the voice said.

Hiroshi nodded slowly. "Okay...but how am I supposed to do that?"

"_Become one with the winds and they will take you to where you want to go."_ Hiroshi waited for the voice to speak more but it seemed like that was all it was going to say. He glanced back at Tammy and Rini who were watching him closely.

"Um...are you done speaking with imaginary people now?" Tammy asked.

"Yes. I mean, no! It wasn't imaginary!" Hiroshi assured them. The two didn't appear very convinced. "Fine, don't believe me! But I was told we need to become one with the winds."

Rini now looked interested. "And how do you propose we do that?"

Hiroshi wasn't so sure. He glanced up at the clouds while the winds flicked strands of his hair against his face. His lips spread out into a grin. "Just watch me. Remember to spread your arms and relax," he said. He backed away from them and focused his eyes on the front. He began running while telling himself to relax and rid of his concerns. He took a big leap and a wind current carried him off the ground. He spread his arms and legs wide as the wind carried him higher. He let out an energetic shout from the sudden rush. He looked back at the ground and saw Rini and Tammy staring at him in amazement. "What are you waiting for? Follow me!" he shouted at them.

Tammy looked at Rini who only grinned and started to run. Tammy was right behind her. They both leaped into the air and wind currents carried them off. Rini let out an excited squeal as Tammy spread her wings, allowing her to glide easier. Even though the atmosphere was gloomy, they all felt a feeling of thrill wash over them from gliding in the winds.

The rush was over too soon as the winds finally dropped them off at their desired cloud. They laughed as the thrill in them subsided.

Rini pointed forward. "Guys, it's the dark crystal," she said. In front of them was a collection of dark crystal spires. The crystals hummed with low sounds of vibration while their translucent violet surfaces barely revealed the contents inside each spire. The spires were all different shapes but the one in the centre stood tall and large. Rini approached the crystal and squinted to see the interior. A girl with a blonde pixie hair cut was encased in the crystal. The cerulean blue ribbons of her sky blue Senshi uniform were torn and her navy blue sailor collar was ripped. Her sky blue knee high boots with golden accents and white wings above the heels were smudged with burn marks along with the sky blue elbow length gloves she wore. The three layered white and navy blue skirt she had on was also ripped. She looked utterly defeated. She looked like Tei, Sailor Aquarius.

"Oh Tei," Rini said sadly while resting her palm on the surface of the crystal. "Hang on, I'll get you out of there." She unclasped her brooch and lined the Awakening Ring with the jewel. "Moon Awakening!" she called out as she acquired the transformation.

Hiroshi and Tammy stayed back while Rini went to work. Tammy nudged Hiroshi in the side. He looked over at her. "What?"

"You said a voice told you how to get up here. Did you recognize it?" she asked.

"Oh so now you believe me," Hiroshi joked. Tammy laughed slightly but Hiroshi could tell she seriously wanted to know. "Actually...now that I think about it, the voice sounded similar to my...to my father's," he admitted.

Tammy kept silent. Although she didn't know Hiroshi for as long as some of the others, she knew that his dad was no longer in the picture. She also knew none of her friends ever met him. Nobody knew what happened except for Queen Haruka and Queen Michiru. "How could you be so sure?"

Hiroshi simply shrugged. "I'm not. I just know that if I were to imagine what my dad's voice would sound like, it would sound just like the voice that spoke to me today," he told her. Tammy nodded like she understood before directing her eyes back on Rini.

She had just swiped the ring along the surface of the crystal and was now resting her palm on it. "Holy Moonlight Awakening," Rini whispered. Cracks formed inside the dark crystal and white light began to seep out of each crack. Rini moved back and covered her face with her arm as the crystal exploded into a bunch of shards. Tei crumpled into a heap onto the cloud ground as the white light vanished. Tammy rushed forward to pick Tei off the ground while Rini's transformation faded back into her regular Neo form.

Tammy placed Tei's arms over her shoulders. Her eyes were still closed. "Now we just need to get out of here," Tammy said.

"And I think the winds want to be in charge of that," Hiroshi said. He pointed to a wind tunnel that just appeared over their heads.

"Not another wind tunnel," Rini complained as they were sucked into the tunnel.

After what seemed like forever in Rini's mind, the wind tunnel opened up again and shot them out. They landed into a big pool of crystal clear water with a loud splash. Rini spit out water as her head broke the surface and rubbed her face furiously. Why the heck did they land in water?

"Well that wasn't a very graceful landing," someone said from behind her. Rini whipped her neck around and saw Arcturus grinning at her. He was calmly resting in the pool of water with his back against smooth grey stones.

"Arcturus?!" Rini sputtered. "What the heck?! What's going on?"

"Someone tell her to calm down. She's ruining the serene atmosphere," another voice said. Rini turned to the source of the voice, prepared to tell her off. But she found herself unable to speak.

A woman was lounging on a chaise set on the flat grey rocks with her arms crossed. Her face appeared angelic with her short platinum blonde hair reaching her delicate jaw line. Her grey eyes focused on Rini and seemed to change like the air itself. At her side on the ground was a large, silver ceramic urn. "You three seem like you need some relaxation." She spoke in a wispy voice, as if she was speaking from far away but still near. Before Rini could say anything, the woman snapped her fingers. Rini's and Tammy's Senshi uniforms were replaced by light and flowing blue robes. Hiroshi's Knight uniform disappeared as well and was traded with blue shorts while his chest remained bare.

"Wait, where's Tei?" Tammy asked while looking around. She realized when they fell into the water, Tei was no longer with them.

The woman didn't answer right away. "Tei...who is that again?" Rini, Tammy and Hiroshi stared at her blankly. "Oh, right! Of course, how could I forget Tei?" The woman clapped her hands. A white cloud descended from the sky. Tei was lying down on the cloud still asleep but looking a little better than before. She was being watched by two little girls with wispy, thin appearances like they were made out of air and wore matching, flowing white dresses. "Do not worry about Tei. For now, you need to just relax." The woman sighed happily and stretched out her body, smoothing out the wrinkles on her pale blue, crisscross ruched bodice chiffon dress.

"Yeah, the springs are so relaxing," Kimiko chirped as she reclined her head back while in the water.

"It really soothes the aching muscles we had from our fights," Takemara added.

"You guys had to fight? What happened?" Hiroshi asked.

"Well, once we were separated from each other by the wind tunnels, we had to face more creatures and-."

The woman cut off Takemara and shook her head. "Any violence talk is unacceptable around here. It is a place of serenity and relaxation, not stress," she said.

Rini glanced back at the woman. "Who _are_ you?"

The woman didn't seem bothered by the question. "Who am I?" she repeated. "Who am I...?" She gazed off in a random direction as she trailed off in thought.

Maxine gave Rini an apologetic look. "Sorry about this. We discovered she does this a lot," she told her.

"Her attention span is really short. Her mind's always floating off," Ariel said.

The woman suddenly snapped back to reality and shot up from her chaise, her dress changing colours from pale blue to a stormy grey. "Who am I?" she began dramatically. The two cloud girls rolled their eyes. "I am air. I am the water carrier. I have been told I am a mermaid but I do not have a tail. Or do I?" She paused to check behind her to make sure there wasn't a tail. "Yes, no tail! I do not plan on getting one either. I also really enjoy wearing pale blue eye shadow." The woman went on to talk about a few of her favourite things, hobbies, and the meaning of life.

Rini gave her friends a really confused look. "Where is she going with all of this?" Rini asked.

Tammy swiftly snapped her fingers. "Oh! I get it! She's Aquarius, the First Queen of Aquarius! That's why she's so..." Tammy trailed off while she looked back at Aquarius who was still rambling. "Focused on calmness," she finished.

"That's right!" Aquarius pointed abruptly at Tammy. "Air is calm so I am calm." She sat back down on her chaise and reclined backwards closing her eyes. Her dress reverted back to its original pale blue colour. She snapped her fingers and another cloud child, this time a boy, materialized beside her. He poured green tea from a clear pitcher into a ceramic tea cup and handed it to Aquarius who sipped it tentatively. The cloud boy then approached Hiroshi, Tammy and Rini with the pitcher and poured them some green tea as well. All three accepted the glasses graciously even though Hiroshi wasn't a fan of tea.

"Don't worry about our queen's scattered behaviour. The winds are being more unpredictable than usual and it's affecting her too," the boy said to them. His voice sounded just as breezy as Aquarius's. "I mean, she always had a wandering mind but it's more intense than usual due to all the dark magic activity."

The boy's mention of dark magic made Rini remember about Yume. She quickly scanned around and found Yume sitting beside Tsunami with her toes grazing the surface of the water. She appeared fine but Rini wanted to make sure. "Yume, are you okay?" she asked.

Yume gave Rini a smile but Rini could see the weariness behind it. "I'm fine. The springs are making me feel much better," Yume assured her. Rini wanted to press a bit further but stopped herself once she saw the expression on Yume's face. She could see a silent plea in her eyes, telling her that it wasn't the time to ask. Rini gave a small smile of understanding in return.

"So Queen Aquarius." Tammy's voice shifted Rini's attention away from Yume. "Is Tei going to be fine after your healing?"

"I am certain I never said I was healing her." Her words caught everybody's attention as they all fixed their eyes on her. "That would be direct interference."

"But how will she get better?" Uratoh asked.

Aquarius waved him off. "Oh I'm sure she will gain strength naturally. My cloud attendants are watching her and the springs give off a natural revitalizing feeling. However, _I_ cannot directly interfere."

"Aries did so," Ariel pointed out. "He gave Mou a blessing that restored some of her energy."

Aquarius sat up again and fixed her eyes on the group. They seemed much clearer and focused than earlier. "That is true but the key words to focus on are _blessing_ and _some._ Blessings are not always meant to heal and even so, not all lost energy is restored. That is always the case," she said.

"But what about when Aries saved Yume and Kenzo from the black fire?" Max asked.

"And how about the time when Aries fried those giant birds into crisps when they were about to attack me?" Rini added.

"He fried giant birds into crisps?" Aquarius echoed. Rini nodded. "Hm...I wonder if they tasted any good." She began to get that faraway look in her eyes but Rini clapped loudly in order to get her attention back. "Oh, where was I? Oh yes! I guess there are several explanations for those. The Dark Senshi that faced against your friends was not aiming to kill at that moment, only harm. So either way, whether Aries had stepped in or not, it would not have affected their fates. Also, I'm afraid Apollo is a bit more _lenient_ when it comes to interference. Things we constellations can get away with, the planetary First Royals would possibly have no chance. Artemis is much stricter," Aquarius told them.

"Oh, that's probably why Hermes made us do all that stuff to get the rejuvenation water and why he was only giving us vague answers." Arcturus now understood.

"Exactly." Aquarius nodded. "Another important thing to realize is that Aries was in his celestial form. He could probably only interfere in that way if he was in that form, which he was. If it was anything but his celestial form, his actions would not have been as successful."

"Because his celestial form is more detached and free," Kimiko said.

Aquarius sipped more of her tea. "And I guess another factor is that Aries is the top of the Zodiacs. His superior rank most likely helped him out too." Rini could detect an underlying layer of envy in Aquarius's tone. "Pisces and I probably wouldn't get away with half the stuff he does," she grumbled.

"King Pisces was able to save us when he turned into a giant whale," Tammy told her.

It seemed like Tammy's attempt to cheer Aquarius up worked judging by the way her face lit up. "Oh really? Then that's good. Maybe I can start getting away with more stuff too..."

"Does that mean you're going to heal Tei?" Maxine asked.

"Nope. But I can help you children out a bit." Aquarius set aside her tea and rose from her chaise. She reached down to hold the silver ceramic urn in her hands. She glided closer to the springs and bent down to draw some water into the urn. The sky blue Aquarius symbol tattoo on her right shoulder started to glow. The urn became bathed in white light before pulsing once and fading away. She snapped her slim, long fingers to summon the cloud boy from earlier. He had a blue, glass vial that appeared small enough to fit inside a pocket. The boy uncorked the vial and passed it to Aquarius who dipped the vial into the water-filled urn. She passed the filled vial back to the boy who placed the cork back in.

"Come child." Aquarius beckoned Rini forward. She set her urn back onto the ground while the boy gave the vial to Rini. "Once I have drawn water from the springs of my temple into my urn, the water becomes infused with healing properties. This vial contains enough for one use," she explained.

"One use?" Rini echoed. She peered down at the tiny vial in her palm. "Am I supposed to give this to Tei to heal her injuries? That way, you won't be directly interfering right?" Rini asked.

Aquarius let out a light chuckle. "Why is it that children these days believe that healing can only be for the physical? Why can't it be for damages that cannot be seen?" Aquarius paused after seeing the puzzled expression on Rini's face. "I suppose you can do whatever you want, whether it is to heal Tei or not. It's now yours so it's your decision," she said.

Rini sighed. Now she had to worry about making the right choice. She closed her fingers over the vial. "Thank you Aquarius," Rini said.

Aquarius waved her off. "Ah it's no big deal. But I'm afraid you all need to leave now. You have a mission to carry on with after all." Rini nodded as the others reluctantly dragged themselves out of the soothing pool of water. As soon as they exited, their robes and shorts were replaced with clean and dry civilian clothes.

"Don't forget about Tei," Aquarius mentioned, nodding her head at the little cloud girls watching over Tei. Max and Aeneas went over to help with gathering Tei. As they did, Aquarius strolled up to Hiroshi. His eyes were full of curiosity when she took his hands into hers. They were as soft as clouds. "A journey awaits you when you return." Her voice was quiet, barely louder than a whisper.

"What kind of journey?" he asked a bit too loudly.

Aquarius shushed him strongly and hesitated before she continued. "A journey to discover who you are," she whispered. She broke free from his hands before he could question her any further. Hiroshi then noticed that the others were looking at them in interest. "Oh I'm probably just rambling off on my usual nonsense. Curse the dark activity that has tainted the winds!" Aquarius cried out dramatically, moving her arms in wild motions. She turned her back to Hiroshi but not before giving him a little wink.

Hiroshi smiled; maybe Aquarius wasn't as scattered as they thought.

"Now you guys really need to get going. I need to talk to Aries about how those birds tasted." Or maybe she really was.

"Thanks again, Aquarius." Maxine grinned. "You should really consider making this place into a spa or something."

"Ah I've tried that. It appears that I'm not very good at running businesses." The two cloud girls at her side nodded their heads furiously with fright evident in their eyes. Rini had to choke back a laugh. "Farewell! And remember to be calm, you'll need it!" Aquarius clapped her hands and a wave of sky blue smoke encircled the group and they vanished.

They landed with a loud thud onto a balcony floor. They made it back to the castle. Tammy stood up and folded her wings behind her back. "I think that was the hardest landing we experienced all day."

Rini picked herself off the ground and brushed off her sleeves. "Well I think I'm done with winds for a while." The sky was now tinted pink and orange, a sign that it would soon be dark. "We better head inside. We need something to eat," she said. Rini glanced over at Max and Aeneas who were carrying Tei. She was still asleep. _And I still have to figure out whether to use this on Tei now or not_, Rini thought, looking down at the vial in her hands.

"Anything but fried black birds," Uratoh joked. Rini couldn't help but laugh at his reference.

The group began filing into the castle. However, Hiroshi stayed at his place at the balcony's railing. His eyebrows were furrowed in deep thought over Aquarius's words. Tsunami was about to enter the castle when she noticed Hiroshi's unmoving stance and walked up to him. "Hey, it's time to head in," she told him.

Hiroshi didn't answer. He knew he had to go now. The winds were calling him. He hoisted himself up onto the railing while Tsunami watched in alarm. "What do you think you're doing?"

A warm breeze blew against his face. _"Come to me, son_._"_ The voice from earlier whispered through the winds.

Hiroshi looked back at Tsunami from over his shoulder. "Don't wait up for me. I'll be back." He took a deep breath and let himself fall over the railing while Tsunami called out for him.

* * *

><p><span>AN: This chapter is done and another Zodiac is saved! Yes it took more than a month but consider this a Christmas present or something! By the way, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Oh and for past and new readers, the prologue to chapter five of ACAG (the first instalment) has been edited again and updated. Of course new readers wouldn't notice anything different but past readers will! I added in extra details but nothing that would really affect the plot. So if you want to check it out, you can! Just remember it's only up to chapter five that's been edited.


	17. Ouranos: The Wind Fighter

Chapter Seventeen: Ouranos: The Wind Fighter:

Hiroshi glided among the white puffy clouds. After he fell over the railing of the balcony, wind currents caught him and brought him higher into the clouds. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going but he figured that wasn't really important since the currents knew what they were doing. There was this rising feeling in his chest though, almost like excitement. He didn't know how this feeling originated but he felt like it had to do with the voice he heard earlier. The one that he imagined his father would sound like. Hiroshi then shook his head. He knew should not get his hopes up especially since he had never heard his father's voice before.

The air rippled slightly. Hiroshi sensed that the currents shifted just a tiny bit, a change most people wouldn't even notice. But he knew right away. The air was different, more familiar and comfortable. He was home. Now he knew it didn't make sense that he was flying through the clouds on Aquarius just moments ago and now he was on Uranus but he didn't let it bother him much. It just meant he was now dealing with a very powerful force with abilities that massively exceeded his own.

A large, floating structure soon came into Hiroshi's view. It was so massive it made even Hiroshi wonder how such a large building could stay afloat in the air. It wasn't his palace, Miranda Castle, for sure. For one thing, this building was a floating fortress, not a castle situated on the ground. The stones that made up the fortress were almost a golden colour. The multiple tower caps were cobalt blue, just like Hiroshi's eyes. Low clouds clung to the tops of the towers and turrets which made it more difficult to see the golden flags that peeked out from the tops.

As the currents brought Hiroshi closer, he began to hear soft, low voices whispering throughout the winds. "The prince is here." He heard them say. However, he couldn't tell if the voices were excited or anxious. Maybe both.

The winds finally brought him down onto the terrace of the fortress. The doors of the terrace were wide open, revealing a hallway that seemed to go on forever. Each side of the hallway was lined with shields decorated with golden, silver, and cobalt blue plating and double swords crossed in a _X_ shape in between the shields. More gusts of winds blew down the hallway, rustling Hiroshi's hair.

He began to hear faint clanging noises coming from the end of the hallway like the sounds of swords clashing. Since he didn't know what exactly he was doing here, he figured he might as well follow the clashing noises to the source. Hiroshi began to walk down the hallway. The whispering voices from earlier were still there and getting louder the further he walked down. He tried to block them out as best as he could. "Okay, I get the message. I'm the prince and I am here," he groaned out loud. But the voices didn't seem to care that he understood since they continued on with the same phrase.

Just when he thought he was about to snap, Hiroshi reached the end of the hallway. Large double doors stood in his pathway. Hiroshi could hear the clashing sounds much clearer now. Two suits of armour stood by either side of the doors, their spears crossed over the entrance. Hiroshi stepped forward, thinking that the two suits would move their spears, but they stood still with their spears still crossed over. He thought they were enchanted to move but maybe they were really just inanimate suits of armour.

Hiroshi then tried to just go through by pushing the spears aside but the two suits of armour now pointed their spear heads at his chest threateningly. "Okay...so they _are_ real," Hiroshi said to himself. He backed away from them. There had to be some way to get the guards to let him pass.

A breeze tickled the nape of his neck and made the tiny hairs rise. "The prince is here," another breezy voice whispered to Hiroshi. A sudden smile appeared on his face. "Oh, I get it now! There's a password!" Hiroshi pointed at the two suits of armour in a confident manner. "The prince is here," he recited. The two suits remained motionless for a moment that made Hiroshi wonder whether he was wrong about the whole password thing. Then, the suits of armour brought in their spears as the double doors creaked open slightly, allowing a large enough space for Hiroshi to pass through.

The room was huge and wide. Hiroshi could tell the place was much larger than the average ballroom. The ceiling rose high with fluffy white clouds at the top. Hiroshi peered closer and soon realized the clouds were real, not painted like some kind of ceiling mural like he originally thought. Rays of sunlight shone into the room through the tall floor-to-ceiling windows that were so clear, Hiroshi could swear the glass looked non-existent. He saw a glimpse of sparkle at the bottom corner of his eye and peered down at the floor to discover he was standing on a blue stone. He then noticed there were more stones and were arranged in a way to display some kind of picture. He backed up until he could see the whole design; the symbol of Uranus with a sword pierced down the middle surrounded by winds. The design looked seriously cool.

On the far wall were a variety of swords mounted to it, from double-edged to cavalry swords. In addition to the swords, there were axes, lances, daggers and shields all shined to their brightest gleam.

Hiroshi heard swords clanging again. He hadn't realized that the sounds had stopped while he was looking around. The sounds were coming through a walkway near all the shields and weapons that led off into another room. Hiroshi headed down the walkway where it eventually opened up into a large coliseum. It looked highly traditional with rows of spectator seats that surrounded a large arena with a sandy ground. In the middle of the arena was a cluster of winds that were swirling up the sand around them. Two swords clashed against each other in the middle of the torrent like it was really two people fighting. Hiroshi actually thought he saw a hand materialize for a second there before it vanished back into the winds. He watched with widened eyes; all the moves were so perfectly executed by both swords. "How is this even possible?" Hiroshi muttered quietly.

The swords stopped suddenly and the winds slowed down their pace a bit. One of the swords fell to the ground. Hiroshi's face went blank, especially when he heard a voice say, "Think fast!" The sword that had fallen flew suddenly into Hiroshi's hands. He had little time to react and block the strike when the wind twister stormed at him suddenly with the other sword. Hiroshi tried to best to hold his ground as the winds pushed the sword against his. A chuckle sounded through the air as the winds finally released the pressure. Hiroshi stumbled back slightly.

"What was that about?" Hiroshi asked, aware that he was talking to wind.

"Oh, just a little rush manoeuvre," the voice replied. The winds spiralled up suddenly while carrying up sand. When the winds and sand finally dispersed, they revealed a man who looked ready for battle. His short, golden blond hair was well trimmed in a way that let his blue eyes stand out. He was relatively tall with well-defined muscles created from long hours of sword fighting, Hiroshi guessed. The man's copper armour breastplate fit his frame but he wore no armour on his legs, only cargo pants. So instead of looking purely ready for battle, he only looked partly ready.

The man took a step towards Hiroshi in his sneakers with his hand rested on the sword now sheathed by his side. "So you are the current prince," he began. The man walked around Hiroshi as he analyzed him from top to bottom. Hiroshi felt himself stand up straighter from a desire to impress the man even though he wasn't sure where that desire came from. Maybe because this man turned out to be a live manifestation of what he always imagined his father would look and sound like. But Hiroshi had a feeling that this man couldn't be his father since he had never seen this man or his father before.

A glint of a blade sparkled in the corner of Hiroshi's eye and he brought up the sword he had been given in order to block the man's second strike. "Whoa, what was that for?"

The man withdrew his sword and nodded knowingly to himself. "Just as I thought. Your swiftness is still there but it's waning," the man said.

"What do you mean by _waning_?" asked Hiroshi.

"You're forgetting who you are," the man said simply. "Heck, I bet you don't even know who I am."

Hiroshi let out a huff. "Of course I don't! Don't you think I would have said something by now if I knew?"

The man didn't reply. Instead, he walked over to the spectator seats and sat down. He pulled out a cloth from thin air and then began to shine his sword. "You know, your mother always said she wanted to be the wind. I thought it was the same for you. At least that's what I remember from when you were a child," he said.

Hiroshi shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Well, I still want to," Hiroshi admitted while he scratched his head a bit.

"Then why aren't you?"

Hiroshi shrugged. "I guess I lost focus."

"More like you lost motivation." The man beckoned for Hiroshi to join him. He held out his sword for Hiroshi to see as he took a seat. The sword's hilt was blue with a strip of gold wrapped around the grip. The silver blade had something engraved in it, almost like a signature. Hiroshi peered closer at the engraving. "Oura-Ouran-Ourano?"

The man rolled his eyes and let out a loud sigh. "Ouranos! I am Ouranos, the First King of Uranus!" he clarified.

"Oh! I guess that would make sense," Hiroshi said. Ouranos only stared at Hiroshi before he shook his head.

"Maybe if you spent less time flirting with girls and more on studying history, you would have known," Ouranos pointed out.

Hiroshi held up his hands in defense. "You can't blame me for being so attractive," he said. He let out a little laugh when Ouranos rolled his eyes but didn't protest against Hiroshi's statement.

"I guess I can't argue with that. I think I had more than enough influence in the determination of your good looks." Ouranos let out a short chuckle but Hiroshi only looked at him. _Is he trying to tell me something or...?_ Hiroshi decided to not let his mind ponder on that too much and changed the direction of the conversation again.

"Why didn't you say you were Ouranos earlier?" he asked.

A scowl appeared on Ouranos' face. "Oh I don't know. I guess I was too busy summoning you to a massive floating fortress through the wind. Or maybe I was just tired from sword fighting as wind. Obviously those things were not apparent enough to reveal my identity."

Now it was Hiroshi's turn to scowl. "You know, I didn't think deities could be so sarcastic."

Ouranos rolled his eyes. "_Please_. I'm pretty sure I invented sarcasm." He held up his sword to inspect its shine. Once he was satisfied he sheathed the sword and rose from his seat to stand in front of Hiroshi. "Tell me, son, what is Uranus known for, other than wind?"

Hiroshi tried to ignore the fact that Ouranos called him son. "I guess combat."

Ouranos nodded. "Correct. It is our combat skills that label Uranus a military power." He paused to scan over Hiroshi once again. "And yet you rarely show that you are from a military planet."

Hiroshi crossed his arms. "What do you mean by that? I'm awesome with the sword and I guide my friends with attacks." _Sometimes_, he added silently.

"Of course. But you have been given such a great opportunity to truly unlock your full potential. I mean, look at your teammates. You have the twins of Mars, a military powerhouse. The female is a little less military gifted due to her overpowering psychic abilities but she is still an asset," Ouranos pointed out.

"Kimiko you mean."

Ouranos went on. "And the boy! It's not a coincidence that you two are such good friends. Although Mars is a bit more disciplined when it comes to the military, we are still very similar. Ares and I both recognize our strengths and weaknesses in each other that allow us to have a great partnership. You should have seen us during the early battles of the formation of the kingdoms. We were able to acquire so many victories due to our partnership. You two boys will be able to accomplish the same if you learn to lead together. Make up actual plans or else your dark magic friend will exhaust herself from trying to save you all the time."

"Yume?" Hiroshi tried to confirm but Ouranos had already moved on.

"And if you need any help with those actual plans, those children of Mercury will make excellent strategists."

"Can I just say som—."

"And let's not forget your constellation friends!" Hiroshi closed his mouth at this point, deciding to give up on getting a word in. Ouranos was on a roll. "You have that Kyoumou girl from Aries—a relative of Mars in case you've forgotten. And then you have that skillful Orion boy. He can turn his sword into almost any weapon and wield them all practically with ease. I still can't believe that Orion only recently allowed his kingdom to be considered military. That guy is something else at times." Ouranos shook his head. Then he added, "And we cannot leave out the fact that the Orion boy is a captain. What more can you ask for?"

"I guess nothing," Hiroshi mumbled.

Ouranos clapped Hiroshi's shoulders. "Exactly. The only thing that's missing is your motivation."

Hiroshi let out a sigh. Ouranos spoke as if it was such an easy task. "Well it's hard to be motivated to become the fastest when you have a guy with super speed like Arcturus on your team," he said.

"Do you honestly believe the Mercury boy is faster than you?" Ouranos asked.

Hiroshi gave him a look that said, _Were you even listening?_ "Like I said, he has super speed, so yeah I think that makes him faster than me."

"But that speed of his is limited. He cannot use it all the time. Plus he is restricted within his physical body," Ouranos revealed. He stared at Hiroshi with intensity. "You, however, are not."

Hiroshi felt tired already from having to ask Ouranos to constantly clarify. "Okay now what do you mean by that?" He was a human like Arcturus so he couldn't see how he wouldn't be restricted by a physical body as well.

Ouranos now knelt down in front of Hiroshi while he placed his hands on Hiroshi's shoulders. Hiroshi found himself staring back at Ouranos and was once again reminded of the striking resemblance. "It's simple. You must become the wind. Not just glide and cooperate with it like you recently learned to do but _become it_," Ouranos said to him.

Hiroshi tried to pretend that he now understood but truthfully, he still felt like the meaning was unclear. Maybe he couldn't understand Ouranos' words fully because he was still focused on the fact that he and Ouranos looked _too_ similar.

Ouranos noticed the distant on Hiroshi's face and wondered if he even heard anything. "Hey Hiroshi? Did you hear me?"

Hiroshi couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth once he opened it. "Do you know what happened to my dad?"

He watched Ouranos' eyes widen from surprise and then darken with a look that seemed like he expected such a question but still dreaded hearing it. Ouranos did not respond which prompted Hiroshi to press further. "Are you...are you my dad?" he asked.

This time, Ouranos shook his head as he pulled his hands away. Hiroshi did not know whether to feel relieved or disappointed. "I know what you're thinking. Despite our striking resemblance, I am just an ancestor of yours," Ouranos said to him with a small smile.

Hiroshi nodded numbly. Of course Ouranos couldn't be his dad. He was a deity. But that also meant that he should know information about Hiroshi's dad. "Well then you must know something about my dad. My mom never tells me anything so it just leaves me to—."

"Imagine." Ouranos finished the sentence for him. "You can't help but wonder whether your dad was a good man or not. Did he leave to go fight in battle or did he abandon you? Is he dead or alive? How was the relationship between him and your mother, considering the facts surrounding your mother's current relationship? And because of that question, you then wonder if maybe you were simply an accident," he ended.

It was as if he took the thoughts straight out of Hiroshi's mind. He stared down at the ground since he found it harder to find the right words to say.

The look in Ouranos' eyes softened as he directed Hiroshi to look up. When he did, Ouranos said, "I may not be able to answer all your questions but I do know for a fact that you were _not_ an accident. You were a gift, Hiroshi. Your mother asked for you and she received. Even though she may tease you by dressing like you and annoying you, just know that she regards you as her most precious gift. And when you have that, nothing else should matter."

The corners of Hiroshi's lips lifted slightly at the mention of his mom. "Yeah she _is_ annoying." Ouranos let out a large chuckle while the smile on Hiroshi's face grew larger.

Ouranos rose from his kneeling position and placed a hand on Hiroshi's shoulder. "Make sure to remind Tsunami of the same thing," he added as he gave the shoulder a squeeze. Hiroshi's smile fell. He completely forgot about Tsunami. He knew she would be extremely disappointed if Hiroshi came back and revealed that he discovered nothing about their father. He looked up at Ouranos again and saw nothing that reminded him of Tsunami. Especially the eyes, since Tsunami always assumed that her sea green eyes came from their dad since they didn't come from her mom. How could he have been so self-concerned and try to think that Ouranos was their dad just because he and Ouranos looked alike? He should have thought about it longer before he blurted out the stupid question.

He then noticed a wave of concern pass across Ouranos' face and knew he had to say something to settle the concern. "So…um…about the wind thing, you're saying I just have to become it?" he asked.

"Yes pretty much. And you'll find that a lot of your troubles will be resolved," Ouranos replied. He paused as a new breeze tickled both of their necks. Hiroshi felt like it was a signal for something. "And now I'm afraid that you must return back to Aquarius. There are still places to go, Senshi to save," Ouranos ended.

He motioned for Hiroshi to follow him and they headed out of the sand covered coliseum and into the walkway that opened up to the weaponry-like room. As they left that room to enter the long corridor, they passed by the suits of armour who crossed their spears back over the door after Hiroshi and Ouranos had passed through.

"You are aware that Capricorn is currently going through civil war-like battles right?" Hiroshi nodded, remembering what Kaji had said back on the Sun. "And you do realize that you guys will have to diffuse that problem as quickly as you can because I assure you that you will face a bigger threat," Ouranos revealed.

"What kind of bigger threat?"

Ouranos shook his head. "Can't say. Just remember where the real fight is. I'm sure you will be able to unite the people." Hiroshi wondered what Ouranos meant by those words. He wished deities were easier to figure out.

Ouranos stopped walking and Hiroshi realized that they had reached the terrace where he had landed earlier. He turned to face Ouranos who placed his hands on his shoulders again. "I believe in you, son. I know you will be able to realize your true potential. Just know that when you're feeling powerless and helpless, you can _call on me_," Ouranos said firmly.

"Okay," Hiroshi replied, not grasping the meaning behind the words.

Ouranos lingered his hands for a moment longer before he removed them. Hiroshi felt lighter, as if a weight had been lifted. He assumed it was because he finally had the opportunity to meet Ouranos after all these years. He gave Ouranos a smile. "Thanks for all the advice. Maybe we can have a little sparring match sometime after all this is over."

Ouranos returned the smile. "I would like that very much. I will anticipate your visit. Now you really must go. Tsunami is waiting for you." He gestured towards the edge of the terrace.

Hiroshi nodded at Ouranos once more before he made his way to the edge. He took a deep breath and let himself fall.

* * *

><p>The lights were dim in the hallways of the castle on Aquarius as Hiroshi wandered down them. After he had manoeuvred through the air currents to return the balcony, he managed to enter the castle where a guard on his night shift approached him. The guard gave Hiroshi the directions to the guest quarters which were where he was heading to at the moment.<p>

He turned a corner and saw the doors that led into the guest quarters. He opened one of the doors slowly to not create any noisy disturbance and slipped through the doorway. He headed for the next set of doors that separated the bedrooms from the living room.

"Finally you're back!" Hiroshi jumped from the sound of the hushed voice then whirled around to see who was there. Tsunami stood there with her arms slightly crossed and a mini flashlight with its beam directed right at Hiroshi. He had forgotten that Tsunami waited for him, even though he told her not to.

Tsunami raised one of her perfectly arched eyebrows. "So aren't you going to tell me about your trip? I'm assuming you met Ouranos since you couldn't have been just going out to surf on air currents."

Hiroshi waved her off dismissively. "Yes I met Ouranos. And didn't I say not to wait up for me? It's the middle of the night." When Tsunami didn't respond, Hiroshi turned to open the doors. Tsunami's hand grabbed his wrist which prevented him from moving.

She hesitated before she proceeded with her question. "Did you...did you ask him about our father?"

Hiroshi looked back at Tsunami. He could see the longing and curiosity that filled her eyes. A lump formed in his throat. He couldn't tell her now that he found out nothing. He rubbed the back of his head as he said, "Look, I'm really tired right now and I can't really remember all the details at the moment. But I promise I'll tell you what I know tomorrow, alright?"

He watched Tsunami's shoulders slump from his response and felt bad. Still, Tsunami nodded and let go of his arm. "There's an empty bedroom at the end of the left side," Tsunami told him, flicking her wrist at the doors.

Hiroshi gave her a small smile, hoping to forget the distant sound of her voice. "Thanks. Goodnight, Tsunami."

"Goodnight."

Hiroshi cast her one last look before he entered the doorway and passed the other bedrooms before he reached his. He desperately needed some time alone to think about his visit with Ouranos. And judging by Ouranos' warning, he needed to begin planning out a strategy for their stop at Capricorn. And he was going to need some help.

_I'll talk to the others tomorrow_, he thought as he rested his head against the pillows. It only took him a moment for his eyes to close.

* * *

><p><span>AN: Yes, I already know. I don't even have words to explain the lack of updating. I feel so apologetic but I do want to thank those who have been patient. I don't know who's still following the story since I haven't gotten a review since chapter 15. I really hope people are still reading this story. I will try my best to improve my updating game. Please leave a review! It will definitely motivate me more!


End file.
